Justin Bieber is Bing's most searched for person of 2013

Canadian popstar beat both Beyonce and Kate Middleton to take the top spot in the UK, moving up from fifth place in 2012

Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber performs during his "Believe" concert at the Olimpic Stadium in Santo Domingo October 22, 2013 (REUTERS/Ricardo Rojas )

Microsoft has released their yearly rankings of the top UK search queries on Bing, showing that Justin Bieber has taken the top spot as most searched for person, overtaking both Beyonce (second place) and Kate Middleton (third place).

The royals also gave a strong showing in the most searched for news story, with the birth of Prince George being the most frequently queried topic, followed by Jimmy Saville and the Boston Marathon Bombing. The rest of the list was filled mainly by American stories, including the verdict on the controversial George Zimmerman case, the (second) inauguration of Barack Obama and the plight of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

In the most searched for film category, Robert Downey Jr. vehicle Iron Man 3 took the top spot, followed by Kick-Ass 2 and Despicable Me 2, proving our love for sequels has not yet abated. Supernatural horror flick The Conjuring was a surprising entry at number four, whilst superhero and sci-fi titles were well represented: Oblivion at number 5, Star Trek: Into Darkness at number 7 and Man of Steel at number 10.

Robert Downey Jr. as superhero Tony Stark

The results for television programmes showed that soaps were more popular than reality TV, with Coronation Street and Eastenders taking the top two spots and Big Brother at number three. However, fantasy and sci-fi blockbusters also had a good showing, with Doctor Who the fourth most searched show, followed by Game of Thrones.

In terms of most searched for sporting figures, footballers moved in en masse to the top ten, overtaking the Olympic-heavy list of 2012. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale took the first, second and third spots respectively, with Mo Farah finishing in an unaccustomed fourth place. Farah and cyclist Chris Froome (9 most searched) were the only non-footballers to crack the top ten.

The top ten searched for songs were also listed, with Thrift Shop (see below) by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis coming in first, followed by Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines and the pop-country hit Cruise by Florida Georgia Line. Daft Punk’s Get Lucky was number four, followed by Avicii’s Wake Me Up.

The full lists of Bing’s top searches in 2013 can be seen here.