2010s Timeline: Key Dates, Events And Milestones

The 2010s in order, one year at a time, from 2010 to 2019.

Each year gives the headline of the year, the news that mattered, and the music, screen and sport people remember.

Useful for quizzes, school projects, reminiscence sessions and milestone birthday cards.

2010

• A hung parliament, a volcano that stopped the planes and the first iPad.
• The general election in May produced a hung parliament and a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.
• Ash from the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in Iceland grounded flights across Europe in April.
• Thirty-three Chilean miners were rescued in October, watched live around the world.
• 'Love the Way You Lie' by Eminem and Rihanna was the year's best-selling single.
• Downton Abbey and Sherlock both began.
• Spain won the World Cup in South Africa; England lost 4-1 to Germany with a goal wrongly disallowed.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2010

2011

• The royal wedding, the riots and Adele's 21.
• Prince William married Catherine Middleton on 29 April, and the day was a public holiday.
• Riots spread across English cities in August.
• The phone hacking scandal closed the News of the World in July.
• Adele's 21 was the best-selling album of the year and went on to be the decade's biggest.
• Game of Thrones began in April.
• Manchester United won a nineteenth league title.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2011

2012

• The Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics in one extraordinary summer.
• The Diamond Jubilee was marked in June with a river pageant and a concert.
• The London Olympics ran from 27 July, with Danny Boyle's opening ceremony.
• The Leveson Inquiry reported in November.
• 'Somebody That I Used to Know' by Gotye was the year's best-selling single.
• Netflix launched in the UK in January.
• Super Saturday, 4 August: Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah all won gold within 45 minutes.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2012

2013

• A royal baby, Andy Murray at Wimbledon and the horsemeat scandal.
• Prince George was born on 22 July.
• Margaret Thatcher died on 8 April.
• The horsemeat scandal in January changed how supermarkets labelled meat.
• Nelson Mandela died on 5 December.
• 'Blurred Lines' by Robin Thicke was the year's best-selling single.
• Breaking Bad ended and box-set watching became the normal way to view.
• Andy Murray won Wimbledon on 7 July, the first British men's champion since 1936.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2013

2014

• The Scottish referendum, the ice bucket challenge and streaming joining the chart.
• Scotland voted to stay in the UK on 18 September, by 55 to 45.
• The First World War centenary was marked, with the ceramic poppies at the Tower of London.
• The ice bucket challenge raised large sums for motor neurone disease charities.
• 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams was the year's best-selling single.
• The Grand Budapest Hotel and Guardians of the Galaxy were the films people liked.
• Germany won the World Cup in Brazil; England went out in the group stage.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2014

2015

• The Queen's record reign, Leicester's title run beginning and Adele's return.
• The Conservatives won the general election in May with a small majority.
• The Queen became the longest-reigning British monarch on 9 September.
• The 5p carrier bag charge came in in England on 5 October.
• Adele's 'Hello' and the album 25 broke sales records on release in the autumn.
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened in December.
• England were knocked out of their own Rugby World Cup at the group stage.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2015

2016

• Leicester won the league, Britain voted to leave and a lot of people died.
• The EU referendum on 23 June voted to leave; David Cameron resigned and Theresa May became Prime Minister in July.
• Donald Trump was elected President in November.
• The Chilcot report on Iraq was published in July.
• David Bowie died on 10 January, two days after releasing Blackstar; Prince died in April; George Michael died on Christmas Day.
• Planet Earth II drew audiences that beat The X Factor.
• Leicester City won the Premier League from 5000-1.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2016

2017

• Grenfell, the Manchester Arena attack and a snap election that went wrong.
• The Manchester Arena attack on 22 May killed 22 people.
• The Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June killed 72 people.
• Theresa May called a snap election in June and lost her majority.
• Article 50 was triggered in March.
• 'Shape of You' by Ed Sheeran was the year's best-selling single and one of the most-streamed songs ever.
• Blue Planet II changed how the country talked about plastic.
• Chelsea won the league; Arsenal won the FA Cup.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2017

2018

• A royal wedding, a heatwave and England reaching a World Cup semi-final.
• Prince Harry married Meghan Markle on 19 May.
• The Salisbury poisonings happened in March.
• The summer brought one of the hottest and driest on record.
• The twelve boys and their coach were rescued from a cave in Thailand in July.
• 'One Kiss' by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa was the year's best-selling single.
• Bodyguard drew the biggest drama audience in years.
• England reached the World Cup semi-final in Russia, and Three Lions was back on every radio.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2018

2019

• A cricket World Cup final nobody could believe and a December election.
• Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in July and won a large majority in the December election.
• Brexit was delayed twice during the year.
• Notre-Dame in Paris caught fire in April.
• Greta Thunberg and school climate strikes were a regular news story.
• 'Someone You Loved' by Lewis Capaldi was the year's best-selling single.
• Avengers: Endgame and Joker were the films of the year.
• England won the Cricket World Cup at Lord's on 14 July on boundary countback after a tied super over.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2019

How to use this timeline

• Quiz round: read an event and ask for the year, or read a year and ask for what happened.
• Reminiscence: start at the year someone left school and read forwards.
• Milestone birthday: read the timeline from their birth year to the year they turned 18.
• Anyone born in 2010 turns 50 in 2060, 60 in 2070 and 70 in 2080.

Shop prints and posters

How to write it so it lands

• Read the timeline alongside the decade history guide: one gives the order, the other gives the story.
• For a birthday card, pick the one event from their birth year that still gets a reaction.
• Years rarely change neatly at the decade line. Check the year either side before setting a quiz question.

Where to shop next

• 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
• 2010s history: events, politics and culture
• 2010s calendar: year by year
• 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 timelines: key dates and events by era
• 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
• Phone party games
• How to run a quiz night
• Decade music round questions
• Guess the year quiz
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Wedding cards
• Wedding cards guide
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What are the key dates of the 2010s?

The timeline above runs from 2010 to 2019, with the headline events of each year in order. A hung parliament, a volcano that stopped the planes and the first iPad.

What happened in 2010?

A hung parliament, a volcano that stopped the planes and the first iPad. There is a full page for 2010 at /blogs/news/look-back-to-2010.

Are the dates accurate?

Yes. Every date, name and event on this page is real and comes straight from our year-by-year pages, so the timeline and the year pages always agree.

Can I use this for a quiz or a school project?

Yes, freely. Print it, read it out, copy it - no permission needed. We make greeting cards, prints and pin badges; these pages are free.