Media of the United Kingdom

Media

Main article: Media of the United Kingdom

Broadcasting House in London, headquarters of the BBC, the oldest and largest broadcaster in the world^{[543][544][545]}

The BBC, founded in 1922, is the UK's publicly funded radio, television and Internet broadcasting corporation, and is the oldest and largest broadcaster in the world.^{[543][544][545]} It operates numerous television and radio stations in the UK and abroad and its domestic services are funded by the television licence.^[546][547] Other major players in the UK media include ITV plc, which operates 11 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network,^[548] and News Corporation, which owns a number of national newspapers through News International such as the most popular tabloid The Sun and the longest-established daily "broadsheet" The Times,^[549] as well as holding a large stake in satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting.^[550] London dominates the media sector in the UK: national newspapers and television and radio are largely based there, although Manchester is also a significant national media centre. Edinburgh and Glasgow, and Cardiff, are important centres of newspaper and broadcasting production in Scotland and Wales respectively.^[551] The UK publishing sector, including books, directories and databases, journals, magazines and business media, newspapers and news agencies, has a combined turnover of around £20 billion and employs around 167,000 people.^[552]

In 2009, it was estimated that individuals viewed a mean of 3.75 hours of television per day and 2.81 hours of radio. In that year the main BBC public service broadcasting channels accounted for an estimated 28.4 per cent of all television viewing; the three main independent channels accounted for 29.5 per cent and the increasingly important other satellite and digital channels for the remaining 42.1 per cent.^[553] Sales of newspapers have fallen since the 1970s and in 2010 41 per cent of people reported reading a daily national newspaper.^[554] In 2010, 82.5 per cent of the UK population were Internet users, the highest proportion amongst the 20 countries with the largest total number of users in that year.^[555]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom

British meals. Food

British meals

Christmas dinner[edit]

A British Christmas dinner plate, featuring roast turkey, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts

Since appearing in Christmas dinner tables in England in the late 16th century, the turkey has become more popular, with Christmas pudding served for dessert.^[7][8] The 16th-century English navigator William Strickland is credited with introducing the turkey into England, and 16th-century farmer Thomas Tusser noted that in 1573 turkeys were eaten at Christmas dinner.^[9] Roast turkey is often accompanied with roast beef or ham, and is served with stuffing, gravy, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes and vegetables. In addition to Christmas pudding, trifle, mince pies, Christmas cake or a yule log are also popular desserts.^[10]

Varieties[edit]

Anglo-Indian cuisine[edit]

Main article: Anglo-Indian cuisine

Kedgeree, an Anglo-Indian dish

Chicken tikka masala, 1971, adapted from Indian chicken tikka and called "a true British national dish."^[11]

Some Anglo-Indian dishes derive from traditional British cuisine, such as roast beef, modified by the addition of Indian-style spices, such as cloves and red chillies. Fish and meat are often cooked in curry form with Indian vegetables. Anglo-Indian food often involves use of coconut, yogurt, and almonds. Roasts and curries, rice dishes, and breads all have a distinctive flavour.

Signs of curry's popularity in Britain slowly became evident by the later 1960s and 1970s, when some establishments that originally catered almost exclusively to Indians gradually observed a diversifying clientele.^[12]

English cuisine[edit]

Main articles: English cuisine and List of English dishes

English cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with England. It has distinctive attributes of its own, but also shares much with wider British cuisine, partly through the importation of ingredients and ideas from North America, China, and India during the time of the British Empire and as a result of post-war immigration.^[13]

Northern Irish cuisine[edit]

Main articles: Northern Irish cuisine, Irish cuisine, and Culture of Northern Ireland § Food and drink

The cuisine of Northern Ireland is largely similar to that of the rest of the island of Ireland. In this region, the Ulster Fry is particularly popular.

Scottish cuisine[edit]

Main article: Scottish cuisine

Scottish cuisine: Haggis, neeps and tatties

Scottish cuisine is the specific set of cooking traditions and practices associated with Scotland. It shares much with English cuisine, but has distinctive attributes and recipes of its own. Traditional Scottish dishes such as haggis and shortbread exist alongside international foodstuffs brought about by migration. Scotland is known for the high quality of its beef, lamb, potatoes, oats, and sea foods. In addition to foodstuffs, Scotland produces a variety of whiskies.

Welsh cuisine[edit]

Welsh cawl

Main article: Welsh cuisine

Welsh cuisine has influenced, and been influenced by, other British cuisine. Although both beef and dairy cattle are raised widely, especially in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, Wales is best known for its sheep, and thus lamb is the meat traditionally associated with Welsh cooking.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_cuisine

British cuisine. Food

Cuisine

Main article: British cuisine

Chicken tikka masala, 1971, adapted from Indian chicken tikka and called "a true British national dish"^[540]

British cuisine developed from various influences reflective of its land, settlements, arrivals of new settlers and immigrants, trade and colonialism. Celtic agriculture and animal breeding produced a wide variety of foodstuffs for indigenous Celts and Britons. Anglo-Saxon England developed meat and savoury herb stewing techniques before the practice became common in Europe. The Norman conquest introduced exotic spices into England in the Middle Ages.^[541] The British Empire facilitated a knowledge of Indian cuisine with its "strong, penetrating spices and herbs". British cuisine has absorbed the cultural influence of those who have settled in Britain, producing many hybrid dishes, such as the Anglo-Indian chicken tikka masala.^[540][542]

British cuisine

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Sunday roast, consisting of roast beef, roast potatoes, vegetables and Yorkshire pudding

British cuisine is the heritage of cooking traditions and practices associated with the United Kingdom. Although Britain has a rich indigenous culinary tradition, its colonial history has profoundly enriched its native cooking traditions. British cuisine absorbed the cultural influences of its post-colonial territories – in particular those of South Asia.^[1][2]

Fish and chips, a popular take-away food of the United Kingdom

In ancient times Celtic agriculture and animal breeding produced a wide variety of foodstuffs for the indigenous Celts and Britons. Anglo-Saxon England developed meat and savoury herb stewing techniques before the practice became common in Europe. The Norman conquest introduced exotic spices into England in the Middle Ages.^[3] The British Empire facilitated a knowledge of Indian cuisine with its "strong, penetrating spices and herbs".^[3] Food rationing policies put into place by the British government during the wartime periods of the 20th century^[4] are widely considered today to be responsible for British cuisine's poor international reputation.^[3]

Well-known traditional British dishes include full breakfast, fish and chips, the Christmas dinner,^[3] the Sunday roast, steak and kidney pie, shepherd's pie, and bangers and mash. People in Britain, however, eat a wide variety of foods based on the cuisines of Europe, India, and other parts of the world. British cuisine has many regional varieties within the broader categories of English, Scottish and Welsh cuisine and Northern Irish cuisine. Each has developed its own regional or local dishes, many of which are geographically indicated foods such as Cornish pasties, the Yorkshire pudding, Cumberland Sausage, Arbroath Smokie, and Welsh cakes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_cuisine

Cinema of the United Kingdom

Cinema

Main article: Cinema of the United Kingdom

Alfred Hitchcock has been ranked as one of the greatest and most influential British filmmakers of all time.^[533]

The United Kingdom has had a considerable influence on the history of the cinema. The British directors Alfred Hitchcock, whose film Vertigo is considered by some critics as the best film of all time,^[534] and David Lean are among the most critically acclaimed of all-time.^[535] Many British actors have achieved international fame and critical success. Some of the most commercially successful films of all time have been produced in the United Kingdom, including two of the highest-grossing film franchises (Harry Potter and James Bond).^[536] Ealing Studios has a claim to being the oldest continuously working film studio in the world.^[537]

Despite a history of important and successful productions, the industry has often been characterised by a debate about its identity and the level of American and European influence.^{[citation needed]} British producers are active in international co-productions and British actors, directors and crew feature regularly in American films.^{[citation needed]} Many successful Hollywood films have been based on British people, stories or events, including Titanic, The Lord of the Rings, and Pirates of the Caribbean.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, British films grossed around $2 billion worldwide and achieved a market share of around 7 per cent globally and 17 per cent in the United Kingdom.^[538] UK box-office takings totalled £944 million in 2009, with around 173 million admissions.^[538] The annual British Academy Film Awards are hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.^[539]

Music of the United Kingdom

Music

Main article: Music of the United Kingdom

See also: Rock music in the United Kingdom

The Beatles are the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed band in popular music, selling over a billion records.^{[506][507][508]}

Various styles of music are popular in the UK from the indigenous folk music of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to heavy metal. Notable composers of classical music from the United Kingdom and the countries that preceded it include William Byrd, Henry Purcell, Sir Edward Elgar, Gustav Holst, Sir Arthur Sullivan (most famous for working with the librettist Sir W. S. Gilbert), Ralph Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten, pioneer of modern British opera. Sir Harrison Birtwistle is one of the foremost living composers. The UK is also home to world-renowned symphonic orchestras and choruses such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Chorus. Notable conductors include Sir Simon Rattle, Sir John Barbirolli and Sir Malcolm Sargent. Some of the notable film score composers include John Barry, Clint Mansell, Mike Oldfield, John Powell, Craig Armstrong, David Arnold, John Murphy, Monty Norman and Harry Gregson-Williams. George Frideric Handel became a naturalised British citizen and wrote the British coronation anthem, while some of his best works, such as Messiah, were written in the English language.^[509][510] Andrew Lloyd Webber is a prolific composer of musical theatre. His works have dominated London's West End since the late 20th century and have also been a commercial success worldwide.^[511]

The Beatles have international sales of over one billion units and are the biggest-selling and most influential band in the history of popular music.^{[506][507][508][512]} Other prominent British contributors to have influenced popular music over the last 50 years include The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Queen, Led Zeppelin, the Bee Gees, and Elton John, all of whom have worldwide record sales of 200 million or more.^{[513][514][515][516][517][518]} The Brit Awards are the BPI's annual music awards, and some of the British recipients of the Outstanding Contribution to Music award include; The Who, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart and The Police.^[519] More recent UK music acts that have had international success include Coldplay, Radiohead, Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, Spice Girls, Robbie Williams, Amy Winehouse and Adele.^[520]

A number of UK cities are known for their music. Acts from Liverpool have had 54 UK chart number one hit singles, more per capita than any other city worldwide.^[521] Glasgow's contribution to music was recognised in 2008 when it was named a UNESCO City of Music, one of only three cities in the world to have this honour.^[522]

As of 2016, pop remains the most popular music genre in the UK with 33.4 per cent of unit sales, followed by hip-hop and R&B at 24.5 per cent of unit sales.^[523] Rock is not far behind, at 22.6 per cent of unit sales.^[523] The modern UK is known to produce some of the most prominent world rappers along with the United States, including Stormzy, Kano, Yxng Bane, Ramz and Skepta.^[524] The sharp increase of hip-hop and R&B listeners in the UK in the last three years is often explained by an easier access to the genre due to the higher usage of streaming platforms such as Spotify and SoundCloud where hip-hop and R&B is the most popular genre,^[525][526] and also by the rising of new hip-hop and R&B sub-genres popular among the Millennials and the Generation Z (post-Millennials), mainly developed in the US with artists popular in the UK, such as phonk rap^[527][528] (e.g. A$AP Rocky, Lil Uzi Vert, Chance the Rapper, Lil Skies) and alternative R&B^[529][530] (e.g. The Weeknd, Beyoncé, Janelle Monáe, SZA).

Visual art

Main article: Art of the United Kingdom

J. M. W. Turner self-portrait, oil on canvas, c. 1799

The history of British visual art forms part of western art history. Major British artists include: the Romantics William Blake, John Constable, Samuel Palmer and J.M.W. Turner; the portrait painters Sir Joshua Reynolds and Lucian Freud; the landscape artists Thomas Gainsborough and L. S. Lowry; the pioneer of the Arts and Crafts Movement William Morris; the figurative painter Francis Bacon; the Pop artists Peter Blake, Richard Hamilton and David Hockney; the pioneers of Conceptual art movement Art & Language;^[531] the collaborative duo Gilbert and George; the abstract artist Howard Hodgkin; and the sculptors Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor and Henry Moore. During the late 1980s and 1990s the Saatchi Gallery in London helped to bring to public attention a group of multi-genre artists who would become known as the "Young British Artists": Damien Hirst, Chris Ofili, Rachel Whiteread, Tracey Emin, Mark Wallinger, Steve McQueen, Sam Taylor-Wood and the Chapman Brothers are among the better-known members of this loosely affiliated movement.

The Royal Academy in London is a key organisation for the promotion of the visual arts in the United Kingdom. Major schools of art in the UK include: the six-school University of the Arts London, which includes the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and Chelsea College of Art and Design; Goldsmiths, University of London; the Slade School of Fine Art (part of University College London); the Glasgow School of Art; the Royal College of Art; and The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art (part of the University of Oxford). The Courtauld Institute of Art is a leading centre for the teaching of the history of art. Important art galleries in the United Kingdom include the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain and Tate Modern (the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year).^[532