LEISURE, SPORT AND THE ARTS IN BRITAIN
1 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 people2 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
pools3 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 UK4
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, 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
