Glasgow 2014: Commonwealth closing ceremony watched by 6.8m
The closing gala of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, which featured a set by Kylie Minogue, was watched by an average of 6.8m viewers.
The ceremony at the city's Hampden Park was watched by a peak audience of 7.7m, according to overnight figures. Proceedings saw Glasgow officially end its tenure as host city and hand over to Australia's Gold Coast for 2018. Scottish stars Lulu and Deacon Blue also performed in a party atmosphere which gathered all athletes together. BBC One easily captured the lion's share of the TV audience on Sunday night, with 36% of viewers watching the ceremony from Glasgow at one point. The live broadcast which lasted more than two hours and included a seven-song set from Minogue. Her performance was briefly interrupted by Australian athlete Genevieve LaCaze, who danced on stage before being ushered away by security staff. However, the audience substantially slid towards the end of the programme at 2300 BST, with five million people staying until the close. The late evening news bulletin, which followed the conclusion of the games, pulled in 3.3 million viewers. Other performers during the evening included Australian singer Jessica Mauboy, leading a segment which sang the praises of the Gold Coast, which will host the next games in four years' time. Earlier this year, Mauboy performed at the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen to honour Australia's association with the event. The gala also involved the participation of more than 2,000 volunteer performers. The Commonwealth Games opening ceremony on 23 July was a bigger TV draw, bringing in an average 7.6 million viewers and peaking at 9.3 million. Meanwhile, Saturday night's coverage of the games, featuring Usain Bolt in the 100 metres relay and Tom Daley claiming gold in the diving, had a detrimental effect on ITV's usually robust schedule. More than eight million viewers tuned into the action from Glasgow on BBC One, while Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith on ITV drew in a little over one million.