Since the introduction of television there has been a lot of interest in what is the most watched televised event in the History of UK. Most of the entries centered around the Royal Family and the Sporting events. The first two events to gain such a large audience were the funeral of George the Sixth and the coronation of his Daughter Elizabeth the Second. It assumed the viewing figures were high however, due to the lack of television sets in the country in peoples homes its difficult to accurately measure it. Here are the most watched events officially recorded in UK tv history. One of them is actually very recent. Whatever era a TV aerial installation Bristol company like https://aerial-installations-bristol.co.uk/
- The 1966 World Cup final. It probably comes as no surprise that the country’s top sporting event and national game should take the first spot. A record 32.30 million watched England beat West Germany. When you consider that the population at the time was some 54 and half million strong, over half the population saw it.
- The Funeral of Princess Diana. Recorded at 32.10 million this solemn occasion saw the most viewers for a Royal event. The much loved Princess was honoured and finally put to rest. The population had grown by 4 million since 1966 so still over half the country.
- Royal Family. This was a documentary made to reawaken interest in the Royals. It was made at the height of the 1960s when the existence of the Royals was being questioned as they were seen as irrelevant. It was successful as 30.69 million watched it. It was then banned from being shown again by the Queen herself. It has surfaced on Youtube.
- European final 2020. England v Italy. The result may not have been the same as 1966 but 29.5 million people watched with hope that football might be “coming home” again. It was a new entry beating…
- The return of Apollo 13. Not the Moon landing itself (that happened in the early hours of the morning and many missed it). This was the safe return of the “Houston, we have a problem…” mission. 28.60 watch the triumphant return of the astronauts who had so nearly not made it.
Other honorable mentions are the Weddings of Charles and Diana and that of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips. The sixth highest is the 1996 FA cup final between Liverpool and Manchester United. A deeply disappointing game that ended 1 – 0 to Manchester United.
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