Lasting a total of 187 days, or six months and four days, London 1908 was the longest in modern Olympics history. They were opened on April 27 by King Edward VII and finally closed on October 31. They were held alongside the Franco-British Exhibition, an event that attracted eight million visitors and celebrated the Entente Cordiale signed in 1904 by the United Kingdom and France and which initially attracted more interest among the public and media.