Top 10 Defining Stories of the Decade

As the 2010s draw to a close, Belle speaks to storytelling experts StoryTerrace to review the most important cultural tales of the last 10 years in Britain.

A royal wedding…and then another wedding!

April 29th 2011 saw the marriage of ‘Kate and Wills’ – one of the grandest royal affairs to date. The televised marriage was one of the biggest and most highly-covered events that year, with an estimated 22.8 million UK viewers and over 3 billion worldwide viewers watching the royal couple get married in Westminster Abbey. If one royal wedding wasn’t enough to celebrate, in 2018, Prince Harry of Sussex married Meghan Markle at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, and the wedding featured a total of about 600 guests and approximately 1.9 billion viewers worldwide.
 

The Olympics – London 2012

The London 2012 Games were centred around the Olympic Park in East London where up to 180,000 spectators a day from countries all over the world visited London to witness the greatest sporting spectacle on earth. The regeneration of East London and particularly Stratford, the site of the Olympic Park, has had a lasting effect on the area, and for two months the country revelled in a games which were arguably the best in recent memory. Super Saturday, the golden night of the games in which Mo Farah, Jess Ennis-Hill and Greg Rutherford all struck gold in one hour, was dubbed the greatest sporting moment of all time and inspired a wave of patriotism and national pride that hasn’t been rivalled since. 
 

Brexit

In June 2016, David Cameron and the Conservative government held a European referendum, inviting the country to decide whether the UK should leave the European Union. In a historic and dramatic turn of events, 52% of voters chose to leave the EU, and plunged Britain into the political unknown – a fate which has still not yet been fully established. “Leave or Remain” has become one of the most divisive and polarising political and social topics of the decade, and the debate is sure to continue well into the 20s.

The rise of meme culture

The 2010s have truly become the “Decade of the Meme”. Internet memes began in their earliest form in the 90s, and video memes began to spread in the late 2000s due to YouTube. But in the past decade, these videos and images have exploded into popular culture, spreading like wildfire across the Internet. They are no longer just a way to react to a post on Facebook or a way to pass the time in the toilet – memes have become a cornerstone of our communication online and a representation of popular culture.

The Great British Bake-off

The Great British Bake Off has become a television sensation, with only England football matches being able to compete with it for viewing figures. The drama and the beautifully baked cakes have inspired millions, encouraged many people back into the kitchen, and despite all of the change to the show in the past few years, it is still treasured as one of the best television offerings there is. GBBO has become a cornerstone of British media and culture in recent years, and is firmly established as an element of our national identity. 
 

#MeToo

“MeToo” was a phrase and movement initially coined in 2006 on MySpace by activist Tarana Burke. However, as the world learned of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations in 2017, the MeToo Movement transformed into a widespread cultural phenomenon. The hashtag #MeToo was born, and became an empowering movement for survivors of sexual abuse, initially in America, but quickly spread across the world. The phrase has now become fully embedded in our modern vernacular and has grown to include both men and women of all colours and ages, as it continues to support marginalised people in marginalised communities.

Banksy (and the self-destructing work of art)

Banksy is the most well known graffiti artist in the world and arguably one of the most revered modern artists alive, despite having never revealed his true identity. Quirky, ironic and satyrical in nature, his work has examined a number of key political and social issues of our time, often criticising greed, politics, and corporate hypocrasy in London. In 2018, one of Banksy’s famous paintings self-destructed after selling for $1.4 million at an auction in London, as the “Girl With Balloon” immediately disappeared through a shredder after the closing bid was made.?

Rise of the dating apps

Before this decade, the overwhelming majority of marriages, long-term relationships and even casual dates were created and developed in person. The only other avenues for meeting people in a romantic context were comparatively niche personal ads, little-used online dating sites and fledgling social media interactions. Since the arrival of Tinder in 2012, there have been billions of swipes and matches made, and dating apps are now one of the most prominent methods for igniting intimate relationships. Last year, a story published in the Times showed that almost 1 in 10 marriages announced in 2018 had stemmed from dating apps, and this is only set to increase into the 20s. 
 

Climate change and Greta Thunberg

Climate change has long been a problem that people have acknowledged, but pushed to the back of their minds, despite overwhelming scientific evidence that we are placing an unsustainable strain on our environment. However, earlier this year, the plight of Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, at only sixteen years old, has gained international recognition after her carbon neutral transatlantic crossing and powerful speech in front of world leaders, decrying climate change and apparent political ambivalence. She has inspired millions across the UK and the world to take responsibility for their actions, to make changes in their own lives, and to demand more of their political leaders. In 2019, Thunberg was announced as Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.

 

Gangnam Style became the most-watched video ever

Nobody thought that the song and dance ‘Gangnam Style’ would create such a stir when it was released in 2012. The song by PSY from South Korea, was an internet sensation and got the whole world up on their feet, with the video becoming the first video ever to reach a billion views, and then two billion views on YouTube. Gangnam Style epitomised the power of viral content and craze culture, and is arguably one of the key catalysts responsible for the recent spread in popularity of K-Pop across Western cultures. 

Rutger Bruining, CEO and Founder of StoryTerrace told Belle: “This list represents some of the most impactful social phenomena of the last decade. Despite there being such a wide variety of landmark events and social transformations that took place in the past 10 years,  I believe that these are the stories which had the most impact on millions of British lives, and in many cases, billions more worldwide.

“In years to come, people will look back on this decade to remember these incredible events, tell tales of how they were involved, and how their lives were affected as a result. Each individual who lived through these times and who has experienced the effects of such staggering social phenomena will be able to speak of their importance, and I am excited to see how these times are documented when people of our generation and younger come to tell their life stories.”