2012 in history
Here are some light-hearted facts about 2012, designed to serve as a prep sheet for a radio feature on 2012.
I created this page because when I needed some notes to create a few talking points about 2012 in Ireland I couldn't find any suitable sources, so I thought I'd share what I did find. It applies to 2012 in Britain too.
You can also look at years other than 2012:
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2012
The Olympics were held in London. Many people were shocked at how smoothly the whole event ran. The pride was made stronger by GB winning 29 gold medals, with one day known as 'Super Saturday'.
The closing ceremony attracted over 24 million viewers on TV in the UK, one of the highest figures ever recorded.
One notable moment was Chancellor George Osborne being booed as he tried to make a speech at the Paralympics.
Felix Baumgartner took a helium balloon into the stratosphere and skydived, setting a world record supersonic freefall that was streamed live.
Jimmy Carr was caught using a tax avoidance scheme. The news broke shortly before he filmed an episode of 8 Out of 10 Cats, and performed a live show. The news was especially embarrassing as he had recently appeared in a sketch mocking companies that don't pay tax. He apologisd for his "error of judgement", though it has since become part of his act.
David Cameron's pasty tax attracted opposition from Greggs. Cameron tried to calm the mood by saying he recently enjoyed a pasty from the Greggs in Leeds, but it emerged that branch had closed two years before.
King Richard III's body was found beneath a car park in Leicester.
The word 'YOLO' ("you only live once") became common among teens.
Bunting was all over the UK, as Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee.
British airline BMI ceased trading.
Comet closed their doors.
2012 Launches
Uber launched in London.
The PSY song 'Gangnam Style' was released, and a viral hit.
Dating app Tinder introduced the concept of "swipe right".
An LG 84 inch Ultra HD TV with a reach longer than the arm span of most adults was put on sale in Harvey Norman for €26,999.
A political campaign video about Joseph Kony spread incredibly fast online.
The American TV channel DOGTV began, showing programming exclusively for the benefit of dogs.
2012 in Film
The Avengers was the biggest film of the year.
Other big films include The Dark Knight Rises, The Hunger Games, Skyfall, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Ted, Men in Black 3 and Ice Age: Continental Drift.
2012 in TV
Netflix and Roku both launched streaming services in the UK.
Call the Midwife, Sherlock, Line of Duty, Tipping Point and The Voice were new on TV.
The last Royle Family special aired.
The Last Leg begins to cover the Paralympics.
A joke 'mash-up' between 8 Out of 10 Cats and Countdown led to a long-running show called 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
Jedward represented Ireland at Eurovision, where they came 19th.
While these facts about 2012 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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