Beijing Olympic opening ceremony most watched event on television...

The opening ceremony at last year’s Olympic Games in China was the most watched live event in human history, outstripping the moon landings, the funeral of Princess Diana and Barack Obama’s inauguration. The Sunday Times can reveal that the Beijing extravaganza, staged at the Bird’s Nest stadium on August 8, attracted the world’s first “genuine 1 billion” television audience, according to an authoritative report to be released tomorrow. 

The report shows at least 593m people around the world, including 5m in Britain, watched the four-hour show in its entirety (the “average” audience), while 984m tuned in for part of it (the total audience or “reach”, which excludes those who watched in public places). More...

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