random retro-spective
The final days of the Berlin Wall
Germany was united on November 10th, 1989 as the Berlin Wall came down.
welcome to the 2000s
Welcome to the decade in which reality TV was born, the war on terror began and the Queen celebrated her Golden Jubilee.
There's an overview of the decade to date on this page but to find out more about one particular year use the links below or to the right to take you straight to your favourite noughties year.
2000
The new century began smoothly with none of the predicted problems of
the millennium bug.
Lord Archer, the former darling of the Conservative Party, was charged
with perjury.
The Millennium Bridge in London opened and immediately closed because
it wobbled and was deemed unsafe.
The Olympic games took place in Sydney.
Tony Blair and his wife Cherie gave birth to their fourth child, Leo.
Find out more about the news,
sport and entertainment stories of 2000
2001
The world watched in horror as two passenger planes crashed into the
World Trade Center in New York.
Foot-and-mouth disease returned to the UK causing millions of pounds to
be lost in the farming and tourism industries.
Tony Blair was re-elected as Prime Minister on June 7th.
British yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur became the fastest woman to sail around
the world.
Find out more about the news,
sport and entertainment stories of 2001
2002
The Queen celebrated her Golden Jubilee with a UK tour and a concert
at Buckingham Palace.
The murders of Holly and Jessica sent shock waves across the country
There was speculation about England football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson
- might he be seeing Ulrika Jonsson?
Will Young won the ITV series "Pop Idol" beating Bradford's
Gareth Gates in a tense final.
Find out more about the news,
sport and entertainment stories of 2002
2003
The Queen celebrated her Golden Jubilee with a nationwide tour and a series of concerts at Buckingham Palace
The murder of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman sent shock waves through the community of Soham in Cambridgeshire
Find out more about the news,
sport and entertainment stories of 2003
2004
An earthquake in the Indian Ocean sent a massive tsunami crashing into Asia and some parts of Africa. An estimated 250,000 people died. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India were worst affected.
George W Bush won the presidential race against John Kerry to stay in the White House for a second term.
Find out more about the news,
sport and entertainment stories of 2004
2005
The Labour Party won the General Election, making Tony Blair the Prime Minister for a historic third term.
George W Bush was sworn in for his second term as President of the USA.
A teenage gunman at Red Lake High School in Minnesota went on the rampage killing seven pupils, his grandfather and himself.
Jamie Oliver campaigned to get Turkey Twizzlers taken off school menus.
Find out more about the news,
sport and entertainment stories of 2005
2006
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging by the Iraq High Tribunal.
Charles Kennedy resigned as Lib Dem leader after admitting that he had been battling a drink problem.
Find out more about the news,
sport and entertainment stories of 2006
2007
President George W Bush sent 21,500 more troops to Iraq
Jady Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O’Meara were accused of racial abuse towards Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty on Celebrity Big Brother.
The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was found at a Bernard Matthews turkey farm in Suffolk.
Find out more about the news,
sport and entertainment stories of 2007