Will country tune in for Queen’s festive address? You bet
An online festive campaign created by a hotel company involving The Queen’s Christmas Day speech has caught the imagination of the public so much that a national bookmaker has started taking bets on it.Best Western Hotels’ annual festive campaign has a traditional Christmas theme this year, where guests are encouraged to play board games and spend quality time with the family. But it is hoping to revive one fast-declining family tradition in particular – the gathering in front of the TV for The Queen’s Christmas speech.
It has created a free competition (bestwestern.co.uk/festivebreaks) which encourages the public to guess how many times Her Majesty will say certain words in the hope that families across the country – as well as in its hotels – will tune in to see if they’ve won.
Bookies Paddy Power has now started taking bets on the campaign. Paddy Power said: “Within the space of a few days last week, six or seven of us in the office had been sent the link from different friends.
“It’s one of those things where you want to have a go for a laugh, and you know you’ll be tuning in to watch to see what Her Majesty does say.
“The idea has been such a success virally, we’ve analysed The Queen’s speeches for the last 25 years and created a serried of odds.”
Paddy Power betting:
How many times will The Queen say 'Best' in her Christmas Day speech?
1/2 None
2/1 Once
9/1 Twice
12/1 Thrice
18/1 More than Three times
How many times will The Queen say 'West/Western' in her Christmas Day speech?
1/25 None
6/1 Once
16/1 Twice
25/1 Thrice
50/1 More than Three times
Will The Queen say 'Best Western' in her Christmas speech?
16/1 Yes
1/100 No
The Queen’s Christmas Day Speeches 1980-2005
‘Best’mentions‘Western’ mention‘Best’mentions‘Western’mentions
2005 0 0 1992 1 0
2004 1 0 1991 1 (west – 1) 0
2003 0 0 1990 0 0
2002 2 0 1989 2 (west – 1) 0
2001 0 0 1988 1 0
2000 0 0 1987 0 0
1999 0 0 1986 1 0
1998 0 0 1985 0 (west – 1) 0
1997 0 0 1984 1 0
1996 1 0 1983 0 0
1995 1 0 1982 1 0
1994 0 0 1981 0 0
1993 1 0 1980 1 0
Best Western, the largest group of independently owned and managed hotels in Great Britain, was spurred into action following results from research it conducted into TV viewing habits over the festive period that showed only 27% of nearly 1,500 people polled were likely to watch The Queen’s Speech this year.
A staple ingredient of the nation’s Christmas day traditions since 1957, the annual televised message from Elizabeth II has in fact seen viewing figures decline in recent years from 28 million in 1987 to 8.2 million in 2005*.
*For your chance to win, simply visit bestwestern.co.uk/festivebreaks and follow the instructions.
*Source – BBC and The Guardian Newspaper respectively.
