1993 in history
Here are some light-hearted facts about 1993, designed to serve as a prep sheet for a radio feature on 1993.
I created this page because when I needed some notes to create a few talking points about 1993 in Ireland I couldn't find any suitable sources, so I thought I'd share what I did find. It applies to 1993 in Britain too.
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1993
Bill Clinton became President of the United States.
Meat Loaf released the album "Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell".
The most popular toy of that year was a Talkboy: Kevin from Home Alone owned one.
Prince changed his name to unpronounceable symbol, to get out of a contract with his record label.
1993 Launches
The shooting video game Doom was released.
Super Mario Kart was released in Europe, where it was a huge success.
Mortal Kombat II was released, and would become even more popular than the original.
Beanie Babies were sold for the first time.
Adobe Acrobat – the programme that reads PDF files – was created.
The first FIFA game was released.
Microsoft Encarta, the encyclopaedia designed for a computer, was launched.
The European Union was formed, incorporating the European Economic Community.
1993 in Film
Jurassic Park (with all its CGI) was the biggest film of the year.
Other big films include The Fugitive, Sleepless in Seattle, Mrs. Doubtfire, Free Willy and Groundhog Day.
Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Philadelphia, Dazed and Confused, Cool Runnings and The Snapper were also released.
1993 in TV
Big TV shows of the year (not premiers): Only Fools and Horses, Birds Of A Feather, Inspector Morse, You've Been Framed!, Heartbeat and The Bill.
The first episode of the X Files, Cracker and Frasier aired.
Dale's Supermarket Sweep aired for the first time.
It was the season finales for Saved by the Bell and Cheers.
Roy Hattersley failed to make his appearance on Have I Got News for You, so he was replaced by a tub of lard. They said it was "imbued with much the same qualities and liable to give a similar performance".
QVC launched the first television shopping channel in the UK. It stands for 'Quality, Value, Convenience'.
Nickelodeon launched in the UK, on cable and satellite.
The BBC launched Live & Kicking.
GMTV launched with Eamonn Holmes and Anne Davies. It had been expected to be called 'Sunrise', but Sky claimed that name.
In Emmerdale, the end-of-year story was a plane crashing into Beckindale.
Challenge TV, famous for replaying old gameshows, launched.
Eurovision Song Contest was held at Green Glens Arena in Co. Cork, presented by Fionnuala Sweeney. It was won by Ireland with Niamh Kavanagh's In Your Eyes.
While these facts about 1993 have been checked against third-party sources (and have been used on air before!), they are provided in good faith to inspire your research and no guarantee is made about their accuracy or their uniqueness. You can use the facts however you wish: most people just take a couple of points they remember and talk around then.
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