As the West End celebrates its 100th anniversary, theatres in London recorded their best ever year.

London's West End, first recognised when the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) formed in 1908 and brought all the theatres into one group, is the subject of a series of television and radio reports today (July 8th).

Coinciding with the historic day came the announcement from the SOLT that attendance at London theatres passed the 13 million mark for the first time in 2007.

The high number of visitors led to box office takings of £470 million.

Two thirds of tickets sold were for musicals, according to the figures.

Big shows such as the reality TV-linked Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Grease as well as plays with big name actors such as Equus, which starred Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe, helped boost the numbers.

But while a few shows did spectacularly well, the number of plays opening was down by a third.

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