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Harry Potter: a top cultural moment

23.05.08 Anna Richardson

The publications of J K Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 1997 and Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses in 1988 are the two literary events that made the top 10 of the best cultural moments of the past 21 years, according to a Sky Arts poll.

A YouGov survey commissioned by the channel to mark the 21st anniversary of the Guardian Hay Festival, of which Sky Arts is a sponsor, asked more than 2,000 people to choose from a range of 21 cultural events.

The most popular choice, the “Three Tenors” singing together on the eve of the 1990 World Cup final, received 49% of the vote, while the Harry Potter publication came in third place. The other top five events were the reopening of the Globe Theatre in second place, the launch of the iPod in fourth, and the Riverdance performance at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest in fifth. The publication of The Satanic Verses was deemed the sixth most significant cultural event.

Sky Arts broadcasts a daily programme of highlights from the festival, “Hay-on-Sky”, starting today (23rd May) at 8 p.m.


TOP TEN CULTURAL MOMENTS:

1. The Three Tenors first perform

2. The Globe theatre reopens

3. Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone was released

4. launch of the i-Pod

5. River Dance troupe appear on Eurovision

6. Salman Rushdie’s fourth novel, Satanic Verses is published

7. Nigel Kennedy records his best selling version of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

8. A Grand Day Out is transmitted

9. The Gherkin is completed

10. Director George Lucas announces the prequel trilogy

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