The 2000s have managed to both feel like yesterday and feel like a different era entirely. The increased interest in 2000s nostalgia is an indication that, whether we notice it or not, the decade really was long ago and the last full decade before social media and Internet culture took over our lives.
Let’s take a look back at the decade that gave us the iPod, Facebook, YouTube, and James Blunt.
2000 - The Millennium Dome Opens
The 21st century was ushered in stylishly with the opening of the Millennium Dome in Greenwich, London.
Her Majesty The Queen was present at the opening ceremony on 31 December 1999, and the Dome opened to the public shortly after.
Throughout 2000, the Dome was the home of the Millennium Experience - an interactive gallery showcasing art of the new and old.
The Millennium Dome is now commonly referred to as the 02 Arena.
2001 - Britain Lends A Helping Hand To Its Closest Ally
The awful attacks on 11 September 2001 affected the entire Western world and caused us to previously rethink aspects of our lives that we took for granted.
A battered and broken United States received condolences from all over the world, including a touching tribute from Her Majesty The Queen and Paul McCartney’s Concert For New York City - a supershow held at Madison Square Garden on 20 October 2001 featuring acts from both sides of the Atlantic.
The concert was created by the former Beatle in recognition of the city’s first responders, many of whom died in the attacks and were still missing at the time of the show.
2002 - Golden Jubilee
Fifty years of pristine rule were celebrated in the summer of 2002 with the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.
Elizabeth II became just the second British monarch to receive such an honour as parties were held and crowds applauded in recognition of the Queen’s spectacular reign.
2004 - The Invention of Facebook
In 2003, a young Harvard University student named Mark Zuckerberg created Facemash - a rather primordial social media site where fellow Havard attendees could rate each others’ attractiveness.
Facemash was created as a joke, but it soon grew into a bonafide social platform called Thefacebook and featured a comment section, visual art, and the ability to accept or decline friend requests. The website had great potential but it was still only limited to the Havard campus
Within a couple of years, Facebook was an Internet mainstay with millions of users around the world and became the preeminent social media platform of the age. MySpace and Bebo were popular, too, but both fizzled out after a couple of years due to the gravitational pull of Zuckerberg’s juggernaut.
2005 - The UK Heals After Tube Terror
London was announced as the host city of the 2012 Olympics on 6 July 2005, however the celebrations would be short lived.
Just a day later, 52 people were killed in a terrorist attack on London’s train and bus networks. The shocking events sent the country into mourning and the victims of the terrible attacks will never be forgotten.
2007 - Blair Era Ends
Tony Blair’s 10-year residency in Downing Street came to an end in June 2007 after the ongoing war in Iraq ebbed away at his approval ratings.
Blair’s resignation brought an end to the New Labour movement and the keys to 10 Downing Street were passed over to Scotsman Gordon Brown.
Brown would remain in his post for three years before a Conservative victory in the 2010 General Election ushered in David Cameron.
2008 - Global Recession
The largest economic crisis since the Great Depression occured in 2008, forcing mass redundancies all over the world and crashing currencies everywhere.
The promising decade of the 2000s, one that is remembered so fondly by many, limped to the finish line in the saddest way possible. People from all walks of life would be hard-pressed in years to come and, from an economical standpoint, the 2010s were certain to begin under a shroud of uncertainty.
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