LONDON, May 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

- Band sparks internet frenzy following announcement of 2014 stadium tour

- News of football star David Beckham's retirement overshadowed by #onebigannouncement

- Ticket demand for 1D's forthcoming tour expected to surpass that of previous outings

It's official: One Direction have bested retiring sporting icon David Beckham to become the world's hottest discussion topic. According to Google Trends data highlighted by online ticketing marketplace StubHub.co.uk, searches for One Direction trumped those for David Beckham four-to-one the week the boyband unveiled details of their 2014 Where We Are Tour. The England football legend's announcement that he will retire at the end of the current domestic football season failed to eclipse 1D fan fervour.

With both announcements hitting newswires within mere hours of each other on 16 May, the global icons went head-to-head in the battle for cross-channel coverage. Harry Styles and his swoon-worthy 1D cohorts were the clear victors, with the hashtag #onebigannouncement also dominating on Twitter throughout the day.

The 2014 One Direction tour is a worldwide outing due to span Latin America, the UK and Ireland come April of next year, with stops at Dublin's Croke Park, Manchester's Etihad Stadium and London's Wembley Stadium all pencilled in so far. Tickets go on sale to the public this Saturday (25 May), with media reports suggesting more than one million people will try to get their hands on One Direction tickets upon release.

Fans interested in securing Where We Are Tour tickets can keep tabs on StubHub.co.uk's dedicated One Direction page for information about forthcoming concert dates and ticket availability. StubHub.co.uk launched in the United Kingdom in December 2011, allowing users to buy and sell tickets to the hottest entertainment, music, sport and theatre events online.

StubHub's dedicated Customer Service team are available from 9:00-21:00, seven days a week, to handle any and all customer queries (0800-358-8585).

The StubHub UK site: http://www.StubHub.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

For more information about StubHub.co.uk please contact:

Fiona Chow, StubHub UK
fichow@ebay.com
Julia Morgan, Ketchum
julia.morgan@ketchum.com
+44-(0)-20-7611-3513

SOURCE StubHub.co.uk