Look Back To 2018: What Happened That Year

A royal wedding, a heatwave and England reaching a World Cup semi-final.

Here's 2018 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 2018

  • 'One Kiss' by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa was the year's best-selling single.
  • Ladbaby's 'We Built This City' was the Christmas number one, raising money for the Trussell Trust.
  • The Greatest Showman soundtrack was the year's biggest album.

In the news in 2018

  • 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.

On screen in 2018

  • Bodyguard drew the biggest drama audience in years.
  • Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War filled cinemas.
  • Killing Eve arrived on BBC iPlayer.

In sport in 2018

  • England reached the World Cup semi-final in Russia, and Three Lions was back on every radio.
  • Geraint Thomas won the Tour de France.
  • Lewis Hamilton won a fifth Formula One title.

Everyday life in 2018

  • Plastic straws and single-use plastic became a national conversation after Blue Planet II.
  • The heatwave brought hosepipe bans and burnt lawns everywhere.
  • TikTok arrived in the UK after merging with Musical.ly.

If you were born in 2018

  • Anyone born in 2018 was born in the summer England got to a World Cup semi-final.
  • They arrived in the hottest summer since 1976.
  • Anyone born in 2018 turns 30 in 2048, 40 in 2058, 50 in 2068, 60 in 2078 and 70 in 2088.
  • 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.

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Frequently asked questions

What was the Christmas number one in 2018?

'We Built This City' by Ladbaby, a sausage-roll parody released for the Trussell Trust.

How far did England get in the 2018 World Cup?

The semi-final, losing 2-1 to Croatia after extra time on 11 July 2018.

How old is someone born in 2018?

Subtract 2018 from the current year. They turn 40 in 2058, 50 in 2068, 60 in 2078 and 70 in 2088.

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.

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