Moon walk lands century’s top news clip

NEIL ARMSTRONG’S first steps on the moon has emerged as the most popular TV news image of the 20th century.

Wed, 03 Sep, 2003 - 01:00

Anita Singh

ITN has compiled a list of the most requested footage from its archives. From the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, to the assassination of JFK, recent history's defining moments have been captured on film.

Many of the images featured in the list shocked the world the young girl fleeing a napalm attack in Vietnam, footage of the September 11 attacks. Others are more uplifting, from the release of Nelson Mandela to Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Heading the top 20 is the 1969 moon landing and Armstrong's "one giant leap for mankind" speech.

Diana's funeral is the most requested British news event, followed by Bobby Moore lifting the 1966 football World Cup and the storming of the Iranian Embassy in 1980.

Margaret Thatcher's tearful departure from No 10 also appears on the list along with Neville Chamberlain's "peace in our time" speech and suffragette Emily Davidson being trampled to death at the Derby in 1913. Also making it to the top 20 is footage of the Beatles' US tour in 1964.

Alwyn Lindsey, managing director of the ITN Archive, said: "Our archive is probably the finest visual document of the people and events which shaped the world since capturing it on film first became possible."

Top 20 most requested footage

1 Moon walk (1969)

2 JFK assassination (1963)

3 September 11 attacks (2001)

4 Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales (1997)

5 Bobby Moore lifting World Cup (1966)

6 Iranian Embassy siege (1980)

7 Martin Luther King's 'I Have A Dream' speech (1963)

8 Margaret Thatcher's resignation (1990)

9 Hindenberg disaster (1937)

10 Munich Olympics massacre (1972)

11 Child napalm victim in Vietnam (1972)