NEWSAR
Multi-perspective news intelligence
SRCThe Guardian - World News
LANGEN
LEANCenter-Left
WORDS573
ENT12
TUE · 2026-06-23 · 15:00 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0623-86772
News/A decade after the Brexit vote, Europe h/Blue passports, Big Ben and Bpoplive: the Brexit referendum …
NSR-2026-0623-86772Opinion·EN·Human Interest

Blue passports, Big Ben and Bpoplive: the Brexit referendum anniversary quiz

The Guardian has published a 10th-anniversary quiz testing recall of the Brexit referendum campaign and its aftermath. The quiz features 18 questions covering various aspects, including the cost and eventual name of a national festival celebrating British creativity, the origin of blue passports, and unusual campaign moments involving Nigel Farage and a pop star.

Martin BelamThe Guardian - World NewsFiled 2026-06-23 · 15:00 GMTLean · Center-LeftRead · 3 min
Blue passports, Big Ben and Bpoplive: the Brexit referendum anniversary quiz
The Guardian - World NewsFIG 01
Reading time
3min
Word count
573words
Sources cited
0cited
Entities identified
12entities
Quality score
100%
§ 01

Briefing Summary

AI-generated
NEWSAR · AI

The Guardian has published a 10th-anniversary quiz testing recall of the Brexit referendum campaign and its aftermath. The quiz features 18 questions covering various aspects, including the cost and eventual name of a national festival celebrating British creativity, the origin of blue passports, and unusual campaign moments involving Nigel Farage and a pop star. It also probes knowledge about specific political figures' actions, such as who asked for Article 50 to be invoked immediately after the vote and who eventually invoked it. The quiz touches upon the referendum's vote split in Scotland, the location of a planned music festival, and celebrity endorsements. It also delves into the details of the withdrawal agreement, the formation of an anti-Brexit party, and fundraising efforts for Big Ben. Further questions explore Boris Johnson's claims about bananas, an Instagram post that irritated Theresa May, a politician's contradictory parliamentary vote, the repurposing of the Brexit bus, the location of a post-victory press conference, and David Cameron's actions after his resignation.

Confidence 0.90Claims 4Entities 12
§ 02

Article analysis

Model · rule-based
Framing
Human Interest
Political Strategy
Tone
Mixed Tone
AI-assessed
CalmNeutralAlarmist
Factuality
0.30 / 1.00
Opinion-Heavy
LowHigh
Sources cited
0
No named sources
FewMany
§ 03

Key claims

4 extracted
01

Boris Johnson is famed for introducing the 'bendy banana' story about the EU to the UK.

factual
Confidence
0.90
02

The draft withdrawal agreement between the UK and the EU had a certain number of pages.

factual
Confidence
0.90
03

Theresa May commissioned a national festival celebrating British creativity in 2018 that cost taxpayers £120m.

factual
Confidence
0.90
04

Nigel Farage ended up in a 'battle' on the River Thames with a pop star.

factual
Confidence
0.80
§ 04

Full report

3 min read · 573 words
It is 10 years since the British public decided to pack up its troubles in its old kit bag, give Jacques Delors the final up yours and march off into an EU-free paradise. Opinions may differ on how that has worked out. Certainly several of the architects of the whole thing are enjoying lovely well-paid retirements on the speaking circuit or have seats in the House of Lords. Anyway, here are 18 questions about Brexit and the referendum campaign. How much do you remember about some of the weirder aspects of those few weeks, months and then years as the UK negotiated its exit?The Guardian 10th anniversary Brexit referendum quiz1.Theresa May commissioned a national festival celebrating British creativity in 2018 that cost taxpayers £120m. Initially known as the Festival of Brexit, what was it eventually called?2.Where are our blue passports made?3.In one of the stranger bits of the campaign, Nigel Farage ended up in a 'battle' on the River Thames with which pop star?4.Also strange. On one Brexit referendum campaign visit, which leader of the Liberal Democrats performed the John Barnes rap from EnglandNewOrder's World In Motion?5.Which politician asked for article 50 to be invoked the day after the referendum, saying: 'The British people have made their decision. We must respect that result and srticle 50 has to be invoked now'?6.Which prime minister did invoke article 50?7.The numbers 52-48 as the Brexit vote split for the UK as a whole are etched on everybody's memory. But what was the split in Scotland, which voted to remain?8.Bpoplive was an ill-fated attempt at a youth-orientated music festival that at various points was billing members of Buck's Fizz (some of whom are pictured), members of East 17 and members of Five Star as its main attraction. Unsurprisingly eventually cancelled, where was it to have been held?9.Some musicians are easy to predict. Johnny Marr backed remain and Morrissey backed leave. But Canadian Bryan Adams also weighed in on Brexit, for some reason. Which side did he back?10.How many pages did the draft withdrawal agreement between the UK and the EU have?11.What was the name of the party a group of anti-Brexit centrist MPs including Anna Soubry tried to set up?12.How much money was raised to try to make Big Ben bong on Brexit day?13.Boris Johnson is famed for introducing the 'bendy banana' story about the EU to the UK. But what claim about bananas did he make during the referendum campaign?14.Who irritated Theresa May by posting a picture of them together with the caption 'A piece of cake, perhaps? Sorry, no cherries' on Instagram? 15.Who stood up in parliament urging MPs on behalf of the government to back a short extension of article 50, then immediately went and voted against it?16.The famous Brexit bus went on to have a respray and was immediately used to take which pop star to their appearance at Glastonbury?17.Where did Boris Johnson and Michael Gove give their downbeat 'victory' press conference?18.What did David Cameron do as he walked away from the lectern after resigning?It is just for fun and there are no prizes – not even a seat in the House of Lords. If you think there has been an egregious error in a question or answer, do feel free to contact guardian.readers@theguardian.com. Or why not watch this incredible compilation of how we got to where we are today instead …The road to Brexit: the lols and the lows - video supercut
§ 05

Entities

12 identified
§ 06

Keywords & salience

10 terms
brexit referendum
1.00
uk exit from eu
0.90
theresa may
0.70
article 50
0.60
nigel farage
0.60
withdrawal agreement
0.50
boris johnson
0.50
big ben
0.40
bpoplive
0.40
blue passports
0.40
§ 07

Topic connections

Interactive graph
Network visualization showing 51 related topics
View Full Graph
Person Organization Location Event|Click node to navigate|Edge numbers = shared articles