Everything goes through phases, no matter what it is. For football, it was somewhat in the dark ages before the Premier League, while popularity in baking has risen, excuse the pun, thanks to the likes of the Great British Bake Off.
Then there’s crafts, the rise in macrame has been huge over the last five years and in fashion we’re back into the 90s era, but what about games, and other sports?
Well, over the last 20 years a number have also been well and truly resurrected, becoming favourite pastimes and hobbies once again, while also being stars of our TV screens too. But what are the games and sports that have most resurrected themselves over the last few decades?
Darts
Darts is one of the most traditional pub games in the UK, yet it somehow manages to sell out arenas. That’s largely thanks to Matchroom Promotions who helped form the PDC and create a new organisation that sees all the top players perform.
It grew and grew in popularity, particularly during the 2000s, with the introduction of the Premier League accompanying the major events like the annual World Darts Championship and World Matchplay brilliantly.
The venues for the Premier League continued to grow in size and today you’ll find them taking over arenas. Off the back of this, video games, merchandise and so much more has been developed, turning darts from a pub game and minority sport into one of the most watched on UK television.
Bingo
Bingo has also enjoyed a resurgence, especially over the last, in large thanks to the progression of online bingo sites like https://www.kittybingo.com/. Online bingo is one of the fastest growing online industries and is worth billions worldwide today.
Players are signing up in their thousands, and what that is doing is having a knock-on effect offline too, and not in a bad way either. Due to online bingo appealing to a new, wider audience that includes a younger generation, many are becoming inspired to play offline in bingo halls up and down the country.
We’re even welcoming new bingo nights in major cities too, solely focused on appealing to a younger market, with companies such as Bongo’s Bingo offering not just bingo but more of a night out on the town.
Cricket
Many consider cricket to be a rather dull game, but while we think that couldn’t be further from the truth, we do get why it may be considered that way. Over the last 20 years though there have been a number of different competitions invented to liven the game up.
Twenty20 cricket was the first, offering a shorter form of the game which gave birth to the IPL, one of the most lucrative and exciting sports competitions on the planet. It completely changed the game and has had a huge influence in how international cricket is played over the last few years.
More recently in the UK, The Hundred has launched, an even shorter game that is aimed to appeal to a wider audience. The Hundred has brought together cricket, along with live music as well as appearing on terrestrial TV and helped inspire a new generation of fan to pick up a bat and ball and start playing.
Chess
Sales of chess boards increased a whopping 87% following the launch of The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix just a few years ago and it catapulted the great game of chess back into the spotlight.
The game itself is incredibly old but it has certainly ebbed and flowed in its popularity down the years. Netflix has been known to set many trends down the years, and this is just another, with chess boards the cool thing to have in your home these days.
