LEISURE, SPORT AND THE ARTS IN BRITAIN

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People in Britain engage in a rich variety of leisure, sport activities and arts that reflect

the great diversity of lifestyles.

In the last fifty years there has been a significant increase in the amount of free time
that people can dedicate to leisure activities, which include sport and arts but also

holidays, shopping etc.

Because of this access to leisure activities largely depends on the spending capabilities
of people

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It is hard to define leisure, because it can vary from group to group, but there are freat

similarities in leisure patterns in the UK

Most common home-based leisure pastimes are: watching television and DVDs, home
computing and internet use, listening to the radio or music, reading books, magazines

and newspapers
Social leisure activities include visiting and entertaining friends, eating out, trips to the

pub, going to the cinema and the teatre, visiting museums, attending sport events, etc.
Most popular shows are The X Factor, Britans got Talent, Doctor Who
In adition to 5 main channels- BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, channel 4, channel 5, British also

recive hundreds of satelite and cable programs

Television remains the most popular media because you can watche while using other

electronic media
Over 60% of adults in the UK have accesse to internet
In 1981 72% of adults read the papers; in 2010 the percentage was about 41%
Reading books for pleasure is also a common pastime. Most populare genres are

popular novels, mystery, sience fiction and romance

Most popular titles are those which were adapted for TV or movie, such as The

Cronicals of Narnia and Harry Potter

Pubs still have an important role in british life, as places of socialization. You can eat,

drink, and play games there

In recent years a huge nuber of wine bars, cafe bars, discos have been opened
Gambeling is another popular leisure activity such as the National Lottery and the
pools

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Since the Second World War the gap between high and low culture has narrowed
Over 600 art and cultural festivals are held annualy i the UK
Britain has a long and rich dramatic tradition
There are about 300 theatres in Britain
London has about a hundred theatres, most famus are the West End theatres

Another popular form of theatres are repertoary (rep) theatres. They provide a nuber

of of plays ina season by the same group of professional actors

Famus opera houses are Royal Opera in London, the English National Opera

Company, the Welsh National Opera, the Scottish Opera Company etc
Other popular forms of opera are those played in pubs such as the one in the Kings

Head pub
Besides clasical dance (ballet) other forms of dance are popular in the UK
Britain is famus for its high-quality orcestras most of witch are based in London.

London Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Philharmonia etc.

Britain is also renowed for its arts and artists and has a nuber of galleries and
museums such as the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, British Museum,

National Gallery of Scotland, the National Museum Cardiff etc.

Cinema is still a very popular entertainment form in th UK

Sport is an important element of British culture. A great number of major sports

originated from the United Kingdom, including football, golf, cricket, rugby, hockey,
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lawn tenis, badminton, squash, snooker and modern boxing

In reacent years more people take up physical activity. Most towns have their own

sports centre which are usually run and finance by the local council
Around 50% of adults in the UK regulary participate in some form of physical

exercise.
Watching a sports event is also a very popular leisure activity
Football is the most popular team sport in the UK. It was invented in Britain. It is the

national sport of England and Scotland.

Football is the working class ballet
In the last two decades of the 20th century violent behaviour by football suporters

earnd British football a bad reputation both at home and abroad

British government took a strong legal measur and banned the sale of alcohol in

football stadiums
Rugby football developed from football in 1823
There are two forms of rugby- rugby union, and rugby leauge. Rugby union used to be
strictly amateur till the end of the 1990s and is manly playd in in southern England,
Scotland, Walse and Irland. Rugby league is played largly in the nort of England.

Union has 15 (30) players, league has 13 (26).

Cricket was invented in England and is Englands national game. It is played in

summer from April to August

Cricket matches last for hours an also for days
International cricket is very popular
Golf was invented in Scotland in the Middle Ages
There are nearly 3000 courses in the UK

The Open Golf Championship is played on the weekend of the third Friday in July
Tennis is a popular recreational and spectator sport. It is said to have been invented by

the French. Lawn tennis was invented in Britain in the 1870s

The first Wimbledon was played in 1877. Wimbledon lasts for two weeks betweene

late June and erly July

No British man has won Wimbledone since 1936, and do British woman since 1977
Polo is an equestarian sport that originated in central Asia and was brought to Britain
from India by army officers during the 19th century. It is the fastest ball sport in the

world
It is played by two teams of four people on horses
Horsracing is a very popular spectator sport in Britain. It is sometimes called the sport
of kings because through the centuries monarchs and nobility owned very expensive

horses
The Grand National takes place at Aintree near Liverpool
All other sports that exist are popular in the UK- hunting, marshal arts, canoeing,
curling etc. and extreme sports. There are also forms of traditional sports such as
cheeserolling, shinty and hurling

SOURCE:
Svetlana R. Stoji: A View of Britain, Beograd 2011