2011 in history
Here are some light-hearted facts about 2011, designed to serve as a prep sheet for a radio feature on 2011.
I created this page because when I needed some notes to create a few talking points about 2011 in Ireland I couldn't find any suitable sources, so I thought I'd share what I did find. It applies to 2011 in Britain too.
You can also look at years other than 2011:
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2011
The Royal Wedding between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attracted an audience of 26 million in the UK.
The News of the World was closed down after an online campaign, following suggestions that the newspaper had been hacking families' phones.
The new mobile brand Everything Everywhere shortens their name to EE, not long after their chief executive described the old name as "silly". They replaced Orange and T-Mobile.
British shadow politician Ed Balls posted a tweet that said only "Ed Balls". He was apparently trying to find an article about himself. The incident became known as "Ed Balls Day".
After riots across England, hundreds of people turned out to tidy up with brooms, binbags and rubber gloves.
The last Somerfield stores closed.
The UK's VAT rate went up from 17.5% to 20%. The Sun's headline was "VAT HURTS!"
Mario Balotelli was involved in a car accident. When police asked why he had £5,000 in his car, he famously told them: "because I am rich".
Michael D. Higgins was voted President of Ireland.
US President Barack Obama visited Ireland, making a speech in Dublin's College Green and visiting his ancestral home in Co. Offaly.
Enda Kenny replaced Brian Cowen as an Taoiseach following a general election.
2011 Launches
14-year-old Rebecca Black posted a video of her song, Friday. The heavily autotuned teenage pop song was described as the worst song of all time.
Snapchat was released.
The 50 Shades of Grey book was published.
The Dublin Leap Card was launched.
A video of a man chasing his dog Fenton through Richmond Park went viral.
2011 in Film
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was the biggest film of the year.
Other big films include Transformers: Dark of the Moon, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, The Hangover Part II, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Cars 2, Thor, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Captain America: The First Avenger, Bridesmaids, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots.
The King's Speech and Bad Teacher were also released.
2011 in TV
Big TV shows of the year (not premiers): The X Factor Results, Strictly Come Dancing, Britain's Got Talent, I'm a Celebrity and Downton Abbey.
LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba demonstrated smart TVs with apps.
Mrs Brown's Boys, Death in Paradise, Game of Thrones and Black Mirror began on TV.
EastEnders received 8,400 complaints over its controversial storyline in which Ronnie Branning swapped her dead son with Kat Moon's healthy newborn baby.
In a Comic Relief stunt, Smithy from Gavin & Stacey sang with George Michael, providing the inspiration for Carpool Karaoke.
Tallafornia began on TV.
Piers Morgan started his new show on CNN, replacing Larry King.
While these facts about 2011 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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