Release Issued by Lexmark:
Great British Heroes beat American Idols to top spot in poll of the nation's favourite photos
Patriotic Brits have picked the image of Kelly Holmes waving the Union Jack as their favourite famous photo of the last 80 years in a poll released today.
The snap of Kelly celebrating her Olympic gold, won nearly a quarter (23%) of the votes to beat classic poses of Hollywood darlings Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. Neil Armstrong taking the first step on the moon landed second place with 17% of the votes in the survey commissioned by leading photo printer manufacturer, Lexmark. Patriotic pics beat celebrity snaps Bobby Moore brandishing the World Cup came third in the poll with 15% of the votes, showing the strength of the nation's pride in our home grown sporting heroes. Almost one in ten (9%) Brits remained loyal to the royals, voting the famous fairytale snap of Charles and Di on the balcony into fourth place.
The classic shot of The Beatles crossing Abbey Road strode into the top five with nearly one tenth of the votes (8%) scoring another strike for the Brits and leaving Marilyn Monroe's legendary pose blowing in the wind at number six.
The full top ten is as follows:
1. Kelly Holmes holding the Union Jack after winning Olympic gold
2. Neil Armstrong taking the first step on the moon
3. Bobby Moore holding the world cup
4. Princess Diana and Charles on the balcony at Buckingham Palace
5. The Beatles crossing Abbey Road
6. Marilyn Monroe holding her skirt down
7. Audrey Hepburn's Breakfast at Tiffany's pose
8. Gazza crying at the World Cup
9. Michael Caine (smoking) by David Bailey
10. Athena poster of female tennis player scratching her bottom
Dan Lezano, Editor of Photography Monthly commented on the poll:”It's great to see Kelly Holmes sprinting past Hollywood icons like Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe to become the subject of the nation's favourite photo. The findings of the poll show that real life emotion is the winning formula to a great photograph and it's no coincidence that the top two shots are of great sporting victories."
The ones that got away
When asked which moment in history the nation wished had been caught on camera, over a third of curious Brits revealed they'd love to see a photo of Christopher Columbus' first view of America. Sailing into second place was a snap of the first glimpse of the iceberg from the Titanic with over a quarter (27%) of the votes.
A snap revealing the face of the 'real' Mona Lisa made third place in the 'most wanted' list with 14% of the votes. Interestingly, only 4% of those questioned said they'd have liked to have seen a photo of Charles and Camilla's wedding day kiss, despite the outcry when lips failed to lock on the day.
The poll was commissioned to celebrate Lexmark's unique Evercolor ink system which means that photos you print at home will last for up to 80 years under glass display and up to 200 years in a photo album.
www.lexmark.co.uk
