Look Back To 1999: What Happened That Year

An eclipse over Cornwall, a millennium everybody was quietly worried about, and boy bands everywhere.

Here's 1999 in full - the music, the news, the screen, the sport and the ordinary details. Good for a birthday card, a party quiz round or a reminiscence session.

In the charts in 1999

• Britney Spears' '...Baby One More Time' was the best-selling single of the year.
• Westlife were Christmas number one with 'I Have a Dream' and 'Seasons in the Sun'.
• Boyzone, Steps, S Club 7 and Five made it the peak year of British pop manufacturing.
• Eminem's 'The Slim Shady LP' arrived and changed the argument about pop music entirely.
• Travis, Stereophonics and the Manic Street Preachers were the guitar bands filling the space Britpop left.

In the news in 1999

• The total solar eclipse of 11 August crossed Cornwall, and a large part of the country travelled south west to see it, mostly through cloud.
• The euro launched as an accounting currency on 1 January, without the UK.
• The Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales met for the first time.
• The Macpherson Report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence was published in February and used the term institutional racism about the Metropolitan Police.
• The Ladbroke Grove rail crash in October killed thirty-one people.
• The Y2K bug dominated the end of the year, with enormous sums spent on remediation.

On screen in 1999

• The Matrix, Star Wars: Episode I, Notting Hill and The Sixth Sense were the films of the year.
• The Royle Family was in its second series on BBC Two.
• The League of Gentlemen began.
• Pokemon arrived on British television and in every playground.
• The Sega Dreamcast launched in Europe in October - excellent, and commercially doomed.

In sport in 1999

• Manchester United won the treble: the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League, the last of those with two injury-time goals against Bayern Munich.
• England hosted the Cricket World Cup and went out in the group stage.
• Australia won that World Cup.
• Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield fought twice; Lewis became undisputed heavyweight champion in November.
• Colin Jackson and Denise Lewis were Britain's leading athletes.

Everyday life in 1999

• Everybody was talking about the Millennium Dome, mostly unkindly, before it had opened.
• Millennium parties were booked a year in advance at prices nobody has forgotten.
• Nokia 3210 and 3310 handsets were becoming standard for teenagers.
• Pokemon cards were banned from schools within about a term.
• Napster launched, and the music industry's next decade was decided.

If you were born in 1999

• Anyone born in 1999 is the last of the twentieth century, which is a good line and technically also true of anyone born in 2000.
• They arrived the year of the last total solar eclipse visible from mainland Britain until 2090.
• Anyone born in 1999 turns 30 in 2029, 40 in 2039, 50 in 2049, 60 in 2059 and 70 in 2069.
• For a milestone card, the strongest line is usually the number one from the week they were born rather than the year's biggest events - it's personal, and it takes two minutes to find.
• For a reminiscence session, read one section at a time and stop on whatever gets a reaction. The point is the conversation, not the facts.

Shop birthday cards

How to write it so it lands

• The number one from the week they were born beats the year's headlines on a card.
• Read one section at a time in a reminiscence session and stop where the conversation starts.
• Use it as a guess-the-year round by reading three facts and hiding the date.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1998
• Look back to 1997
• Look back to 1996
• The 1990s: the whole decade
• 1990s party playlist
• 90s kids' TV shows
• 90s quiz questions
• Toys of the 80s and 90s
• Video shops and late fees
• Saturday morning TV
• Phones before mobiles
• The 2020s so far
• The 2010s: the whole decade
• The 2000s: the whole decade
• The 1980s: the whole decade
• The 1970s: the whole decade
• The 1960s: the whole decade
• The 1950s: the whole decade
• The 1940s: the whole decade
• The 1930s: the whole decade
• The 1920s: the whole decade
• Decade calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Decade trivia game: play for points
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Decade recipes: dishes and food trends by era
• Decade travel: destinations and holidays by era
• Decade tech: gadgets and computers by era
• Decade films: best movies and directors by era
• Decade art: artists, styles and trends by era
• Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
• Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
• Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Retro party supplies
• Nostalgia birthday party by decade
• Nostalgia hamper and gift ideas
• Guess the year quiz
• Care home reminiscence quiz
• Reminiscence gifts for grandparents
• Milestone birthday cards
• Shop birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What was the Christmas number one in 1999?

'I Have a Dream' and 'Seasons in the Sun' by Westlife - a double A-side, and the last Christmas number one of the twentieth century.

When was the 1999 solar eclipse?

11 August 1999. The path of totality crossed Cornwall and south Devon. It was the last total solar eclipse visible from mainland Britain until 2090.

How old is someone born in 1999?

Subtract 1999 from the current year. They turn 40 in 2039, 50 in 2049, 60 in 2059 and 70 in 2069.

Do you sell anything to do with this year?

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