The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland which we know as the United Kingdom or the UK is located on the north-west coast of the European Mainland. The UK is made up of England, Scotland, Wales & North Ireland. London is recognized as the capital of the UK as well as the finance center. The UK is the sixth-largest economy in the world, and it has all-round progress in each sector to be known as one of the most developed nations in the world.

 

Every year plenty of visitors come to the UK from around the globe,be it for tourism, meeting family & friends, business, studying or employment UK allows everyone with open arms, but for that you need to hold the valid UK Visa. When we visit the UK it is a delight to know their culture and at times people even opt to follow some of them.

 

Culture:

 

Culture in the UK is influenced by its history, political union, democracy, distinctive traditions, customs of all 4 countries, and also inspired by its former colonies including Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and the US. Hence it is also recognized as a cultural superpower. So let us discuss the culture of the UK which has inspired so many people in their country and abroad.

 

 

Music:

 

Music in the UK is more of rock music but at the same time, folk to heavy metal is also equally loved by the people. The UK is also home to symphonic orchestra and chorus such as BBC Symphony Orchestra & London Symphony Chorus whereas The Beatles is the most commercially successful band in the UK & world and Coldplay, Spice Girls, Robbie Williams, Amy Winehouse are equally renowned personalities and band in the field of the music industry. Glasgow was named the UNESCO city of the music. Pop culture is the new thing since 2016 followed by Hip-Hop, Rhythm & Blues, and Rock.

 

Cinema:

 

Cinema in the UK has a great influence on history and had a phase in the 1940s. Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is considered the best film of the UK film industry according to some critics. Ealing Studios is the oldest working studio in the world. Harry Potter & James Bond are the most successful & highest-grossing films that are shot and based in the UK. Titanic, Lord of Rings, and Pirates of the Caribbean are based on British people, stories & events.

 

From the 1990s there has been a progressive phase in the British cinema which integrated with digital filming, special effects, and color grading. The Dark Knight & Gravity used the new techniques of the British Cinema. British Actors Roger Moore, Sean Connery, Emma Thompson, and Kate Winslet are some of the world’s most renowned artists.

 

Literature:

 

Literature in the UK is inherited from England, Scotland & Wales that includes Arthurian literature and its welsh origin, old English literature, and the famous work of the writers – Geoffrey Chaucer & William Shakespeare, John Barbour’s. 18th century saw the rise of prose – satires with the high points being Jonathan Swift -Gulliver’s Travels and Miguel de Cervantes – Don Quixote. Humor was promoted by Charles Dickens, Jane Austen was inspired by the lifestyle of the nobles.

 

William Blake was the first English Romantic Poet whose famous work is Songs of Innocence & Songs of Experience. Rudyard Kipling’s novels the Jungle Book & The Man who would be King was set in British India. Late 20th Century was the age of Ian Fleming and James Bond 007.

 

21st Century literature was of theatre, fiction, and historical novels. EL James romantic trilogy of Fifty Shades sold over 100 million globally and set the record of fastest-selling in the UK. Dame Hillary Mantel won the Booker Prize twice for Wolf Hall 2009 and Bring Up the Bodies.

Theatre:

 

Theatre was introduced by the Romans in the UK. The late 16th century and the early 17th century saw a lot of drama & arts. William Shakespeare wrote around 40 plays during this period which is been performed even today throughout the world. 18th century was of sentimental comedy and Italian Opera and through this period popular entertainment became more important for the people than in early times.

 

19th century was the revival times with the arrival of George Bernard Shaw & Oscar Wilde. The 20th century was dominated by drawing-room plays. 1952 saw the performance of Agatha Christie’s The Mouse Trap, a murder mystery with over 25000 shows and it is the longest-running show in the west. Contemporary British theatre is majorly focused on West End, London’s theatre district.

 

Cuisine: Cuisine in the UK has rich culinary tradition and they preferred dishes made with local ingredients & simple sauces without any fuss which was limited to full breakfast & Christmas dinner. Postcolonial territories they absorbed South Asian flavor in their cuisine. Nowadays people here eat quite a variety of food-based on Indian Cuisine and other parts of the world British Cuisine has many varieties based on the region known as English, Scottish, Welsh, and North Irish cuisine.

 

English Cuisine covers the style, tradition, and recipe of England. It has its varieties but influenced by the ideas from North America, China, and India.

 

Scottish Cuisine follows a specific set of cooking skills associated with Scotland. Traditional dishes here are haggis & shortbread. Scotland produces a variety of whiskey.

 

North Irish Cuisine is similar to the island of Ireland and Ulster Fry is very popular here.
Welsh Cuisine is inspired by other British cuisines, beef and dairy cattle are widely raised in Carmarthenshire & Pembrokeshire. Wales is more known for its sheep and hence lamb meat is traditional here.

 

Sports:

 

The United Kingdom is the birthplace of many international sports which includes football, cricket, badminton, billiards, bowls, golf, hockey, rugby, tennis, table-tennis, snooker, squash, and water polo. England is known as the birthplace of club football, a tag given by FIFA. England hosted the 1996 FIFA world cup and won the tournament. During the finals, the viewership was 32.30 million viewers which is the highest ever television watched in the UK.

 

The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England in 1860. Major Walter Clopton Wingfield is credited as the pioneer of this game. The world’s oldest tennis tournament, Wimbledon Championship first took place in 1877. Fred Perry is the most famous & successful player and8-time slam winner and all 4 grand slams. Scotland’s Andy Murray is the most recent slam winner in the 2013 & 2016 Wimbledon champion.

 

Cricket was created in 1830 by England with round-arm bowling which later was legalized in 1864 for over-arm bowling. In 1876-77 England participated in the first test match against Australia. The rivalry between England and Australia gave rise to The Ashes from 1882 and since then it remains the most famous contest for England and Australia played every 2 years.

 

Fashion: One of the fashion capital of the world is London – UK. London Fashion Week is considered as one of the Big Four in the fashion world which takes place twice a year in February & September. British Models Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, and Jade Jagger are famous. Princess Diana was considered as the fashion icon in the UK throughout the world for two decades and her style was followed by many fashionistas.

 

Fashion Designer Mary Quant was at the heart of ‘Swinging London’ and the creation of mini skirts & hot pants. Charles Fredrick Worth is recognized as the father of Haute Couture.
The culture in the UK is the inspiration not only for the people of their region but throughout the world. Western Culture is one of the most followed cultures by people around the world. Indians have always been mesmerized by the people, culture, and the way of living in the UK.