Live 134-hour cruise documentary is world record, say producers

Non-stop live coverage over 134 hours of a voyage by Hurtigruten from Bergen to Kirkenes has been viewed in 148 countries.

Non-stop live coverage over 134 hours of a voyage by Hurtigruten from Bergen to Kirkenes has been viewed in 148 countries.

The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation’s show, which was streamed on the internet and shown on TV, is also entering a claim to the Guinness World Record for the longest live TV documentary.

Three million Norwegians watched the documentary, representing almost three quarters of the country’s population and produced record-breaking ratings. An additional 2.9 million watched the streamed voyage online, almost half of these from outside Norway.

The UK was the fifth most popular country for online viewing figures. During the screening, Hurtigruten was the trending topic on Twitter, at one time with one tweet every six seconds.

The show’s Facebook site ‘Hurtigruten minute by minute’ received 65,000 ‘likes’ during the five-and-a-half day voyage. The broadcast resulted in all-time high visits on Hurtigruten’s websites around the world.

Live coverage included Geirangerfjord and the western fjords of Norway, the crossing of the Arctic Circle, the Lofoten Islands, North Cape and the midnight sun. Hurtigruten UK managing director Kathryn Beadle said: “Nobody could have imagined just how popular this show proved to be.

“Along the coast, crowds turned up in every port to welcome the ship and boats joined in to escort her along the way. The impressive figures demonstrate clearly show the incredible interest there is in Hurtigruten’s voyages along the Norwegian coastline and the global fascination there is for NRK’s innovative concept – Slow-TV.”