2016 in history
Here are some light-hearted facts about 2016, designed to serve as a prep sheet for a radio feature on 2016.
I created this page because when I needed some notes to create a few talking points about 2016 in Ireland I couldn't find any suitable sources, so I thought I'd share what I did find. It applies to 2016 in Britain too.
You can also look at years other than 2016:
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2016
Needless to say, this was the year of the Brexit referendum.
David Cameron resigned as British Prime Minister, being replaced by Theresa May.
In the chaos that followed, protesters became a regular feature of Parliament Square, trying to get into the background of live news broadcasts. The news channels redesigned their set to hide the protesters, so instead they started singing.
Gary Lineker presented Match of the Day in his underwear after pledging to do so if Leicester City won the league.
The Euros were held in France. Ireland made it to the round of 16.
The Mannequin Challenge became the latest internet video trend.
US election winner Donald Trump tweeted about "fake news", a strange phrase that soon became his catchphrase. He later claimed that he had invented the word "fake".
Maradona's 1986 Golden Ball trophy, which had gone missing and was widely believed to have been melted down for its gold, resurfaced in a private collection.
Incandescent light bulbs were banned from sale. Some people still insist they were better than the energy efficient ones.
BHS collapsed. It had just been sold by Sir Philip Green for the nominal sum of £1.
A global trend of clowns scaring people went viral online.
A shortage of drivers combined with strikes about who opens the doors led to chaos on trains across southern England. The failure was soon repeated across the country for many years.
There were a number of celebrity deaths this year: David Bowie, Prince, George Michael, Carrie Fisher, Harper Lee, Alan Rickman, Nancy Reagan, Muhammad Ali, Sir George Martin, Victoria Wood and Leonard Cohen were some of the most shocking.
Galway Airport received its last international flight.
A general election was held in Ireland.
2016 Launches
The incredibly annoying Baby Shark Dance was uploaded to YouTube.
The augmented reality game Pokémon Go was released. The search for Pokémon in the real world is credited with getting many people outside more, though it also had people staring at their phones in dangerous situations.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was released. It soon had to be recalled because it was responsible for numerous fires.
LOL dolls were created.
Short video app TikTok was launched.
2016 in Film
The first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, was the biggest film of the year.
Other big films include Finding Dory, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Captain America: Civil War, The Secret Life of Pets, The Jungle Book, Deadpool, Zootopia, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Revenan, Jason Bourne, Trolls, Ghostbusters and The Young Offenders.
2016 in TV
Big TV shows of the year (not premiers): The Great British Bake Off, Strictly Come Dancing, I'm A Celebrity, Britain's Got Talent and Sherlock.
The Crown began.
On Celebrity Big Brother, the announcement of David Bowie's death caused confusion, as Tiffany Pollard accidentally told everybody that fellow contestant David Gest had died.
On Come Dine With Me, one losing contestant made the speech, "dear Lord, what a said little life, Jane", which inspired a meme and mockery.
Naked Attraction and Planet Earth II were new on TV.
Chris Evans tried to relaunch Top Gear. He left after the first six episodes.
While these facts about 2016 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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