Eight in the evening is the centre of the television schedule and the point at which most of the country has finished eating. Restaurant bookings peak around now, theatre curtains in the West End typically go up at half past seven or eight, and midweek European football fixtures kick off at this hour.
It has picked up a place in recent British memory too — the Thursday evening applause during the first lockdown was set at eight o'clock, which is why the hour still carries an association for a lot of people.
For anyone tracking it, 8 pm is usually a start time rather than a finish: a match, a show, a class or a call to someone in another time zone. The countdown updates in real time and always points at the next eight in the evening rather than the morning.
Common questions
When do West End theatre performances start?
Most evening shows go up at half past seven or eight, so eight o'clock is the practical cut-off for arriving.
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