On October 27th 1986 an event referred to as the Big Bang happened.

This was not the creation of the universe, of course, but instead referred to a number of measures to do with the deregulation of financial markets and the London Stock Exchange enacted by the UK government.

The aim of the Big Bang was to make London more competitive when it came to global finance, an area in which it was falling behind. Since then, London's position has strengthened, and it could well be the most important financial centre in the world.

Similar events have also been give the same name.

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