2010s Calendar: Every Year, Events, TV And Music

The 2010s in order, one year at a time.

Each year below gives the headline event, what people were watching and what they were listening to, with a link to the full page for that year.

Good for a quiz round, a reminiscence session or working out what to put in a milestone birthday card.

2010

• 2010 - A hung parliament, a volcano that stopped the planes and the first iPad.
• News: The general election in May produced a hung parliament and a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.
• Screen: Downton Abbey and Sherlock both began.
• Music: 'Love the Way You Lie' by Eminem and Rihanna was the year's best-selling single.
• Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2010

2011

• 2011 - The royal wedding, the riots and Adele's 21.
• News: Prince William married Catherine Middleton on 29 April, and the day was a public holiday.
• Screen: Game of Thrones began in April.
• Music: Adele's 21 was the best-selling album of the year and went on to be the decade's biggest.
• Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2011

2012

• 2012 - The Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics in one extraordinary summer.
• News: The Diamond Jubilee was marked in June with a river pageant and a concert.
• Screen: Netflix launched in the UK in January.
• Music: 'Somebody That I Used to Know' by Gotye was the year's best-selling single.
• Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2012

2013

• 2013 - A royal baby, Andy Murray at Wimbledon and the horsemeat scandal.
• News: Prince George was born on 22 July.
• Screen: Breaking Bad ended and box-set watching became the normal way to view.
• Music: 'Blurred Lines' by Robin Thicke was the year's best-selling single.
• Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2013

2014

• 2014 - The Scottish referendum, the ice bucket challenge and streaming joining the chart.
• News: Scotland voted to stay in the UK on 18 September, by 55 to 45.
• Screen: The Grand Budapest Hotel and Guardians of the Galaxy were the films people liked.
• Music: 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams was the year's best-selling single.
• Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2014

2015

• 2015 - The Queen's record reign, Leicester's title run beginning and Adele's return.
• News: The Conservatives won the general election in May with a small majority.
• Screen: Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened in December.
• Music: Adele's 'Hello' and the album 25 broke sales records on release in the autumn.
• Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2015

2016

• 2016 - Leicester won the league, Britain voted to leave and a lot of people died.
• News: The EU referendum on 23 June voted to leave; David Cameron resigned and Theresa May became Prime Minister in July.
• Screen: Planet Earth II drew audiences that beat The X Factor.
• Music: David Bowie died on 10 January, two days after releasing Blackstar; Prince died in April; George Michael died on Christmas Day.
• Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2016

2017

• 2017 - Grenfell, the Manchester Arena attack and a snap election that went wrong.
• News: The Manchester Arena attack on 22 May killed 22 people.
• Screen: Blue Planet II changed how the country talked about plastic.
• Music: 'Shape of You' by Ed Sheeran was the year's best-selling single and one of the most-streamed songs ever.
• Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2017

2018

• 2018 - A royal wedding, a heatwave and England reaching a World Cup semi-final.
• News: Prince Harry married Meghan Markle on 19 May.
• Screen: Bodyguard drew the biggest drama audience in years.
• Music: 'One Kiss' by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa was the year's best-selling single.
• Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2018

2019

• 2019 - A cricket World Cup final nobody could believe and a December election.
• News: Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in July and won a large majority in the December election.
• Screen: Avengers: Endgame and Joker were the films of the year.
• Music: 'Someone You Loved' by Lewis Capaldi was the year's best-selling single.
• Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2019

Pop culture milestones of the 2010s

• 2010 - Downton Abbey and Sherlock both began. 'Love the Way You Lie' by Eminem and Rihanna was the year's best-selling single.
• 2011 - Game of Thrones began in April. Adele's 21 was the best-selling album of the year and went on to be the decade's biggest.
• 2012 - Netflix launched in the UK in January. 'Somebody That I Used to Know' by Gotye was the year's best-selling single.
• 2013 - Breaking Bad ended and box-set watching became the normal way to view. 'Blurred Lines' by Robin Thicke was the year's best-selling single.
• 2014 - The Grand Budapest Hotel and Guardians of the Galaxy were the films people liked. 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams was the year's best-selling single.
• 2015 - Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened in December. Adele's 'Hello' and the album 25 broke sales records on release in the autumn.
• 2016 - Planet Earth II drew audiences that beat The X Factor. David Bowie died on 10 January, two days after releasing Blackstar; Prince died in April; George Michael died on Christmas Day.
• 2017 - Blue Planet II changed how the country talked about plastic. 'Shape of You' by Ed Sheeran was the year's best-selling single and one of the most-streamed songs ever.
• 2018 - Bodyguard drew the biggest drama audience in years. 'One Kiss' by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa was the year's best-selling single.
• 2019 - Avengers: Endgame and Joker were the films of the year. 'Someone You Loved' by Lewis Capaldi was the year's best-selling single.

Holidays and annual dates

• 1 January - New Year's Day, a bank holiday across the UK (2 January too in Scotland).
• 25 January - Burns Night.
• 14 February - Valentine's Day.
• 1 March - St David's Day.
• 17 March - St Patrick's Day.
• Mothering Sunday - the fourth Sunday of Lent, so it moves with Easter (March, sometimes late February).
• Good Friday and Easter Monday - the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after 21 March sets the date.
• 23 April - St George's Day.
• First Monday in May - the early May bank holiday (added in 1978).
• Last Monday in May - the spring bank holiday (fixed to that Monday in 1971).
• Third Sunday in June - Father's Day.
• 12 July - a bank holiday in Northern Ireland.
• First Monday in August - the summer bank holiday in Scotland.
• Last Monday in August - the summer bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• 31 October - Halloween.
• 5 November - Bonfire Night.
• 11 November - Armistice Day, with Remembrance Sunday on the second Sunday of the month.
• 30 November - St Andrew's Day, a bank holiday in Scotland.
• 25 and 26 December - Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
• 31 December - New Year's Eve, Hogmanay in Scotland.

Shop birthday cards

How to write it so it lands

• For a guess-the-year round, read the three lines for a year and hide the date.
• For a card, use the year they were born rather than the decade.
• In a reminiscence session, stop on whatever gets a reaction rather than finishing the list.

Where to shop next

• 2010s history: events, politics and culture
• 2010s music: songs, genres and trends
• 2010s films and directors
• 2010s books, films and TV
• 2010s books: novels and authors
• 2010s art: artists and styles
• 2010s fashion: styles, designers and trends
• 2010s food: dishes, restaurants and trends
• 2010s travel: destinations and holidays
• 2010s technology: gadgets and computers
• 2010s shopping guide: what to buy
• 2010s games: board, card and video
• 2010s trivia: fun facts
• 2010s quiz: questions and answers
• 2010s party playlist
• The 2010s: the whole decade
• The decade before: the 2000s
• The decade after: the 2020s
• All decade guides in one place
• Card messages by occasion: every guide in one place
• Card hub: cards, badges and messages by occasion
• Decade history by era
• Decade calendars: every year from 1920
• Decade music: songs, genres and trends
• Decade films: best movies and directors
• Decade books: novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade art: artists, styles and trends
• Decade fashion: styles, designers and trends
• Decade food: dishes, restaurants and eating trends
• Decade travel: destinations and holidays
• Decade technology: gadgets and computers
• Decade shopping guides
• Decade games: board, card and video games by era
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Decade quizzes: questions and answers by era
• Decade trivia game: play for points
• Decade quiz: test your memory
• Shop art prints and posters
• Shop greetings cards
• Shop birthday cards
• Shop funny cards
• Milestone birthday cards
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Retro party supplies
• Look back to 2010
• Look back to 2011
• Look back to 2012
• Look back to 2013
• Look back to 2014
• Look back to 2015
• Look back to 2016
• Look back to 2017
• Look back to 2018
• Look back to 2019
• Phone party games
• How to run a quiz night
• Decade music round questions
• Guess the year quiz
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Care home reminiscence quiz
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Funny Father's Day cards
• Wedding cards
• Wedding cards guide
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What happened in the 2010s?

A hung parliament, a volcano that stopped the planes and the first iPad. The calendar above runs through every year from 2010 to 2019, with the main event, the television and film, and the music for each one.

What was on television in the 2010s?

Each year on this page lists what people were watching that year. For the full television and film picture, open the year page itself.

Where do these facts come from?

They are the same checked facts used on our year pages - real, dateable events only. The official UK singles chart begins in November 1952, so earlier years list popular songs rather than chart positions.

Do you sell anything to do with this decade?

We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK, including milestone birthday cards. This page is free to read and free to copy.