2004 in history
Here are some light-hearted facts about 2004, designed to serve as a prep sheet for a radio feature on 2004.
I created this page because when I needed some notes to create a few talking points about 2004 in Ireland I couldn't find any suitable sources, so I thought I'd share what I did find. It applies to 2004 in Britain too.
You can also look at years other than 2004:
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2004
Britney Spears got married twice in this year: firstly to Jason Allen Alexander, later to Kevin Federline [the first marriage lasted 55 hours]
"va-va-voom" was added to the Oxford dictionary after an advertising campaign for Renault starring Thierry Henry - good for audio
NASA's Mars rover lands safely on the red planet. After a seven month voyage from Earth the US space agency's probe Spirit landed on Mars and sent back images of it.
Ozzy Osbourne reported that he got up at 4am to use the bathroom and stumbled upon a burglar taking jewellery from their house.
Janet Jackson had her famous wardrobe walfunction at the Superbowl.
The Oxford English Dictionary began announcing an annual 'word of the year', startin with "chav".
Tom Cruise sacked his publicist Pat Kingsley. Over the following months we would hear more about the 'real' Tom Cruise, including his relationship wih Katie Holmes, his belief in Scientology and his argument with Brooke Shields over antidepressants.
2004 Launches
Facebook was created. It started as a programme for college students called 'thefacebook'.
Google purchased a map programme and put it online: Google Maps was born.
Google also launched a new email service, Gmail, and opened their Irish headquarters.
The American water brand Dasani launched in the UK. It soon emerged that the water was just London tap water, and while that isn't illegal, it's very rare in Britain and was very similar to the plot of an old episode of Only Fools and Horses. After the tap water turned out to be contaminated, Dasani quit the UK.
PS, I Love You was published.
'The Gherkin' was opened in London.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was the best-selling game of the year.
The word "podcast" was used for the first time to describe a piece of audio.
2004 in Film
Shrek 2 was the biggest film of the year.
Other big films include Spider-Man 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Incredibles, The Day After Tomorrow, The Bourne Supremacy, Shark Tale, The Polar Express, I Robot, Troy, Meet the Fockers and 50 First Dates.
Lindsay Lohan, Jessie Wright and Rachel McAdams starred in Mean Girls.
The Terminal and Adam & Paul were also released in this year.
2004 in TV
The Sex and the City and Friends TV shows came to an end in this year.
The first series of The X-Factor attracted 50,000 applicants. Steve Brookstein won.
This year's Big Brother would be famous for the major fight that broke out in the house. Viewers were watching it unfold live on the late-night E4 streaming, and some were so concerned about the violence that they called the police.
Peppa Pig, The Mighty Boosh, Lost, The Catherine Tate Show, The Paul O'Grady Show, Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere and Joey (the Friends spin-off) were shown for the first time.
Strictly Come Dancing launched. It was a celebrity version of the popular Come Dancing.
2004 in Ireland
Brian McFadden announced his departure from Westlife weeks before their world tour. The announcement was made at the Four Seasons Hotel and the tour continued as a foursome.
The Olympic Games were held in Athens.
Work finished on the upgraded Croke Park stadium.
The smoking ban was introduced in Ireland. Landlords in Wales reported an increase in the number of Irish daytrippers.
The Luas launched in Dublin. The Green Line started on 30 June and the Red Line opened three months later. There were vague plans that it might one day reach Lucan, Blanchardstown or Bray, while newspaper columnists said it would be a white elephant.
The first Electric Picnic was a one day event in Stradbally. The attendance was 15,000.
While these facts about 2004 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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