In the late 1970s, Sharon Burns and Tom Porter founded an association for quizzes distribution into public bars or pubs achieving this activity become really popular among North England population, and mostly those who frequented English Pubs. Teams and leagues started to get formed then, until make this activity a real National Phenomenon.
Even though United Kingdom is where quizzes are more popular yet, and even if some British think “few countries outside the UK have good quizzes”, the truth is Pub Quizzes have been growing up a massive popularity throughout the years in other Europe countries and in the USA.
Pub quizzes have become such a phenomenon that have also been included in the corporate world. Many companies use quizzes as part of Team Building activities to encourage problem solving, innovation and high performing teams and also to allow people to get to know better their coworkers.
The popularity of quizzes has expanded to different countries such as Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Netherlands and USA. It is barely 7 years ago that pub quizzes became a common activity in other countries like Argentina or Uruguay, for example, and in USA they are already as popular as in United Kingdom itself.
A reason for that could be the drinking-in-groups culture of these particular countries. Drinking with friends after work is something very common and if there is a quiz being held at the pub, it guarantees the evening to be way more fun. From the economical point of view, pubs can use quiz nights to fill the premises during the weekdays with folks who otherwise wouldn't be there.
In Auckland, New Zealand, a company called Livewire Entertainment holds the Champion of Champions quiz every year since 1999. It is open to teams coming from all New Zealand regions.
Pub quizzes culture has also served as tourist attraction. Tourists can found themselves sitting down with their friends in a nicely lighted bar in an stranger city, and suddenly a quiz round starts, and they are encouraged to find a team and join the game. The Quiz can make your evening much more fun.
With no doubt, and even if they are popular in other countries, in the UK the pub quiz represents an institution. UK is a nation of QuizMasters. People are hooked to questions and answers games and they love to show off what they know.
Let me know in the comments: How popular Pub Quizzes are in your home country? Have you ever played quizzes as part of a team building event?