2020s Timeline: Key Dates, Events And Milestones

The 2020s in order, one year at a time, from 2020 to 2025.

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.

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Shop prints and posters Pin badges Look back to 2020 Look back to 2021

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2020

  • Lockdown, clapping on doorsteps and a year nobody needs reminding of.
  • The first UK lockdown was announced on 23 March.
  • Captain Sir Tom Moore walked one hundred laps of his garden before his hundredth birthday and raised nearly £33 million.
  • The first Covid vaccination outside a trial was given in Coventry on 8 December.
  • The UK left the EU on 31 January, with the transition period ending in December.
  • 'Blinding Lights' by the Weeknd was the year's best-selling single worldwide and a fixture of the UK chart.
  • Tiger King and Normal People were the lockdown programmes everybody watched.
  • The Tokyo Olympics and Euro 2020 were both postponed by a year.
  • Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2020

2021

  • Another lockdown, then a summer of football and reopening.
  • England entered a third lockdown in January; restrictions were lifted in July.
  • Prince Philip died on 9 April, aged 99.
  • COP26 was held in Glasgow in November.
  • The queue for fuel in September emptied forecourts for a week.
  • Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers License' and 'Good 4 U' were the breakout records of the year.
  • Line of Duty's series six finale was watched by over fifteen million people.
  • England reached the Euro 2020 final at Wembley in July and lost on penalties to Italy.
  • Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2021

2022

  • The Platinum Jubilee, the death of the Queen and three Prime Ministers.
  • Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.
  • The Platinum Jubilee was celebrated over a four-day weekend in June.
  • Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September and the funeral was held on 19 September.
  • Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak were all Prime Minister during the year.
  • 'As It Was' by Harry Styles was the year's best-selling single and spent ten weeks at number one.
  • Stranger Things, Top Gun: Maverick and The Traitors were the year's talking points.
  • England's women won Euro 2022 at Wembley on 31 July.
  • Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2022

2023

  • The coronation, Barbenheimer and 'Last Christmas' finally getting to number one.
  • King Charles III was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 6 May.
  • Inflation and mortgage rates dominated the first half of the year.
  • Storms Babet and Ciaran brought serious flooding in the autumn.
  • 'Flowers' by Miley Cyrus was the year's best-selling single.
  • Barbie and Oppenheimer opened on the same weekend in July and filled cinemas.
  • England's women reached the World Cup final in Australia and lost to Spain.
  • Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2023

2024

  • A July general election, the Olympics in Paris and Gavin & Stacey signing off.
  • Labour won the general election on 4 July and Keir Starmer became Prime Minister.
  • The Post Office Horizon scandal returned to the front pages after the ITV drama in January.
  • A total solar eclipse crossed North America in April.
  • Taylor Swift's Eras Tour played London, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Cardiff.
  • Mr Bates vs The Post Office in January changed government policy within a fortnight.
  • England's men reached the Euro 2024 final in Berlin and lost to Spain.
  • Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2024

2025

  • The Lionesses retained the Euros and the Oasis reunion filled the stadiums.
  • The cost of living and energy bills stayed the dominant domestic story.
  • Artificial intelligence moved into schools, workplaces and customer service in earnest.
  • VE Day's eightieth anniversary was marked in May.
  • Oasis played their reunion shows in Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin over the summer.
  • Adolescence became one of the most-discussed British dramas in years.
  • England's women retained the European Championship in Switzerland in July.
  • Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2025

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 2020 turns 50 in 2070, 60 in 2080 and 70 in 2090.

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Found your words? Now find the card

Shop prints and posters Pin badges Look back to 2020 Look back to 2021

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.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the key dates of the 2020s?

The timeline above runs from 2020 to 2025, with the headline events of each year in order. Lockdown, clapping on doorsteps and a year nobody needs reminding of.

What happened in 2020?

Lockdown, clapping on doorsteps and a year nobody needs reminding of. There is a full page for 2020 at /blogs/news/look-back-to-2020.

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.

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