Oxford Circus remains a busy junction for traffic, and a £5 million upgrade for pedestrians opened in 2009.

[1] Circuses had become popular in English architecture after George Dance the Younger had popularised them in the Minories in East London.

[4] To avoid legal challenges, Nash attempted to rehouse existing tenants in the new buildings around the circus wherever possible.

[5] Most buildings around the circus were designed in a more disciplined manner than some of Nash's later work, and were based on Palladian architecture.

[9] Fellow architect James Elmes described Nash's work on the circus as giving "an air of grandeur" and "as elegant in form as it is useful in application".

In 1904, the Commissioners of Woods and Forests outlined a plan to redevelop Regent Street, including Oxford Circus.

[19][20] During World War II, it was badly damaged by bombs in September 1940 but survived owing to its steel frame construction and was quickly repaired to a high standard.

[19][23] It was the flagship store of the franchise, covering four floors and attracting around 28,000 shoppers a day, half of whom would buy something.

[26][27] For five years from 1963 as part of connecting the tube station to the Victoria line, the road surface was carried on a temporary 850-ton umbrella bridge, accommodating all four directions of travel while work continued underneath.

[34] In 1924, shipbuilder Alfred Yarrow proposed building a grade-separated junction to segregate traffic, paid for by his own funds.

[35] In 1935, Westminster City Council proposed fitting pedestrian guard rails at the junction, restricting crossing in order to improve safety.

[34] At the busiest times, over 40,000 pedestrians per hour pass through the junction, including those accessing the tube station.

The average traffic flow is around 2,000 vehicles per hour during the week, and the junction operates at near capacity for most of the day with regular queues, particularly west along Oxford Street.

24 bus routes pass through Oxford Circus, and over 400 buses cross the junction on an average weekday.

[37][38] It was inspired by street crossings in Tokyo, and opened by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who called the scheme "a triumph for British engineering, Japanese innovation and good old fashioned common sense".

[39] In February 1872, a tripartite arch made of flowers and decorated with flags was erected in the middle of Oxford Circus, to commemorate the Prince of Wales's recovery from typhoid fever.

Police attempted to contain the crowd in the circus, but 50–60 demonstrators broke free and started destroying property and set fire to a nearby shop.

[48] In October, protesters erected a giant wooden pyramid structure in the centre of the circus, which had to be dismantled by a JCB.