The Opel incident was later exposed as a pre-planned stunt, but the floodgates had by this point been opened. ![]() 1974 was the year when it became something of a phenomenon, with Robert Opel running naked across the stage during the 46th Academy Awards, much to the bemusement of host David Niven, and two unidentified streakers at the Australia – New Zealand cricket match in New Zealand. Streaking – that is stripping all your clothes off (or, if you are less daring/more in search of cheap publicity, most of your clothes) and running around in public as a dare or a protest – has been around for centuries – think Lady Godiva – but first reached a peak of pop culture popularity in the early 1970s, when it left the college campuses (where it had been a regular initiation rite) and hit the mainstream. But changes of attitude and laws, new rules from broadcasters and a certain opportunism from glamour models looking to boost their profile have made streaking something of a diminished spectator sport these days. If you were a young attractive female, it certainly helped, and some of the streakers who hit the headlines certainly made the most of their fifteen minutes in the spotlight. Taking your clothes off and invading the pitch at some public event could propel you to a passing fame, a level certainly as valid as most of the ‘stars’ of current celebrity reality shows. There was a time when streaking was big news. Remembering the men and women who livened up tedious public events with unexpected displays of nudity.
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