Celebrating the National Lottery’s 25th Birthday
The National Lottery is celebrating its 25th anniversary in November. There have been more than 2,400 draws since the original Lotto began way back in 1994.
Although the odds of winning the jackpot are still epically low (1/45 million to one), the National Lottery has changed so many lives and created more than 5,500 millionaires!
On November 19th 1994, Noel Edmonds took his place next to the lottery machine. He addressed a TV audience of more than 20 million people. Across the UK more than 48 million tickets had been bought. Prime Minister John Major bought five lines for the first draw from a shop at Victoria Station.
Check out this cool infographic from Sky News explaining some mind-blowing statistics, including most lucky names, birthdays, gender, and location.
There is also a great celebration of winners page on the National Lottery site! It includes stories of the extraordinary impact the organisation has had in the UK, contributing millions of pounds every week to good causes.
Check out this funny video including Jimmy Carr about what the National Lottery has done for the UK.
Good deeds the lottery has done in the last 25-years
Olympic Glory
- Since National Lottery funding for Olympic and Paralympic sport started in 1997, National Lottery funded athletes have won 864 medals.
- Team GB won just one gold medal at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics compared with 67 medals, including 27 golds, at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
- All our Olympic champions benefit from your support in the shape of National Lottery funding, which gives them access to training, coaching, medical assistance and facilities.
565,000 Grants Given
- One of the first projects ever to receive National Lottery funding was Morecambe Brass Band (for new trumpets).
- They have given more than 565,000 grants worth £40 billion.
- Grants have been given to safeguard UK species facing extinction and funding 12,000 schemes to help fight loneliness.
- Furthermore, around £30 million a week is raised for good causes all over the UK.
Changing the face of UK film
- The King’s Speech won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor, in February 2011.
- Without £1 million of National Lottery funding, the film might never have happened.
- The National Lottery has invested over £933.6 million into film-related projects over the past 25 years, funding over 22,860 projects – from iconic films to community film clubs.
