“Wedding of the century”, Neil Armstrong on the moon… These major events followed around the world

At a time when the world is preparing to bid farewell to Elizabeth II, nearly 70 years earlier, Westminster welcomed the young queen for a historic and media coronation. It was one of the first televised events with global reach. 2.5 billion and a half viewers in 187 countries would then have paid tribute to Princess Diana during her funeral. Viewers were almost as numerous for the “wedding of the century”, between Kate Middleton and Prince William.

Nearly 50 years earlier, the salvation of an orphan child shook the whole world. In 1963, John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. stood in front of the coffin of his father, the 35th President of the United States, assassinated three days earlier. Silence was also required during the funeral of Nelson Mandela, who was then receiving military honors. Several dozen Heads of State had come to bid a final farewell to the fight against apartheid. Among the other highlights of television broadcasts, the boxing fight between Mohammed Ali and George Foreman in 1974, or Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon in 1969, followed live by 500 million curious people.