The initial site clearance demolished the set of halls still remaining from the exhibition (their cheap-to-build, white-painted blank facades are said to be the origin of the name White City).

There were also considerable precautions needed during demolition due to the expectation of finding unexploded bombs from raids on a local munitions factory during the World War II blitz.

However, due to heavy financial losses in other ventures, including the construction of the new Wembley Stadium, Multiplex was forced to sell its stake to the Westfield Group.

[14] On the 7 July 2015, Mohammed Rehman and Sana Ahmed Khan planned to explode a bomb which consisted of 10 kg of urea nitrate inside the shopping centre.

[15] The centre was opened to the public on 30 October 2008 by Frank Lowy, CEO of Westfield Group, in an event also attended by Mayor Boris Johnson, with a retail floor area of 1,600,000 sq ft (150,000 m2).

[6] Amid great hype, two million shoppers visited the centre in its first three weeks, despite the ongoing credit crunch in the UK.

While some commentators suspected Westfield London to fail during the economic gloom, the centre reported increased sales in 2010 following an unexpectedly large number of tourist shoppers.

Once the extension was completed, Westfield London's size increased to 2.6 million square feet (240,000 m2), making it the largest shopping centre in Europe.

[20] The centre features around 320 stores, including AllSaints, Apple, Bershka, Boots, Bose, Cotton On (includes RUBI and Factorie), Dwell, Early Learning Centre, Ernest Jones, Gerry Weber, Hackett, Hollister Co, House of Fraser, H.Samuel, Jaeger, Kurt Geiger, Lego, Mamas & Papas, Mango, Marks & Spencer, Next, Nomination, Oakley, Reiss, River Island, schuh, Starbucks Coffee, Tesla, Topshop, Uniqlo, the multiplex cinema Vue, Waitrose and Zara.

Before opening, the centre was expected to attract trade that otherwise might have gone to the already busy West End, as well as having a potentially negative impact on nearby Kensington High Street.