1999 in history
Here are some light-hearted facts about 1999, designed to serve as a prep sheet for a radio feature on 1999.
I created this page because when I needed some notes to create a few talking points about 1999 in Ireland I couldn't find any suitable sources, so I thought I'd share what I did find. It applies to 1999 in Britain too.
You can also look at years other than 1999:
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1999
The £3.60 minimum wage was introduced in the UK.
Victoria Adams married David Beckham. The wedding was held at Luttrellstown Castle in Dublin. David has since bought Victoria a further 13 engagement rings.
PayPal was voted one of the worst business ideas of the year. It's now worth several millions.
Colin Prescot and Andy Elson set a new endurance record of being aloft in a hot air balloon for 233 hours and 55 minutes.
It was a solar eclipse year.
Sunny Delight hastily withdrew an advertising campaign that showed a snowman turning orange, after it turned out that a child who loved the drink really did have their skin turn orange.
Natalie Imbruglia came top in NME's survey of "pop personalities that you'd most like as your doctor".
At the Brits, Billie Piper, Steps, B*Witched, Cleopatra and Tina Cousins all performed a medley of Abba hits called 'Thank Abba for the Music'.
Ireland announced plans to build the 45,000 seater stadium 'Eircom Park' in Saggart.
Everyone feared the Millennium Bug.
1999 Launches
It was all about the Pokémon series. The Red, Blue and Yellow GameBoy games were released in Europe this year and were a massive hit, spawning trading cards, toys and the film.
Mamma Mia the Musical opened in this year
'Tycoon' style games were about to peak, as the series RollerCoaster Tycoon was launched.
The Euro was established.
Music downloading service Napster was launched. Within two years it was forced to close down: Metallica were the first to raise many issues with copyright infringement.
The BBC launched the first 'red button' service.
The DK Rap formed part of Donkey Kong 64.
The virtual pet website Neopets was launched.
Dublin Bus introduced 'autofare', which meant they wouldn't be providing change any more.
1999 in Film
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace was the biggest film of the year.
Other big films include The Sixth Sense, Austin Powers:, Toy Story 2, The Matrix, The Blair Witch Project and Notting Hill.
Tarzan was released. Phil Collins recorded the soundtrack in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish - good for audio
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and Fight Club were also released.
1999 in TV
Big TV shows of the year (not premiers): Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Heartbeat, Touch of Frost, The Vicar of Dibley and You've Been Framed!.
Walking With Dinosaurs, Futurama, The Sopranos and West Wing were first aired.
Bob the Builder, 64 Zoo Lane and SpongeBob SquarePants were shown on TV for the first time.
DIY SOS was new on TV.
TFI Friday became the first TV show to give away a million pounds, in a segment which was making fun of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. [info: it took years for anyone to win Who Wants To Be A Millionaire]
Family Guy and Futurama debuted on Fox in this year.
The "You Buy One, You Get One Free" adverts for Safestyle UK first played.
Reeling In the Years was shown for the first time.
Gay Byrne hosted his last ever Late Late Show.
While these facts about 1999 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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