It All Happens In Britain

So basically, I went through Wikipedia starting in 2000 and just changed everything so it actually happened in the UK. I'll start with 2000 and move on year by year.

...

January 6, 2000: The last natural Scottish ibex is found dead, apparently killed by a falling tree.

January 10, 2000: Virgin Group announces an agreement to purchase Granada plc.

January 14, 2000: FTSE 100 closes at 11,722.98 at the peak of the Dot-com bubble.

A United Nations tribunal sentences five Northern Irish unionists to up to 25 years in prison for the 1993 killing of more than 50 Irish Catholics.

January 18, 2000: The Lough Neagh meteorite impacts the Earth. It explodes in the upper atmosphere at altitudes of 50–30 kilometres (31–19 mi) with an estimated total energy release of about 1.7 kilotons. Following the reported sighting of a fireball in Northern Ireland and West Scotland, more than 500 fragments of the meteorite were collected from the lake in Northern Ireland.

January 30, 2000: Kenya Airways Flight 101 from London to Nairobi, operated with an Airbus A310-300, crashes shortly after take-off from London Heathrow Airport. It crashed into the Thames Estuary just south of Southend-on-Sea, killing 169. 10 passengers survived.

January 31, 2000: Alaska Airlines Flight 298 from Anchorage to London crashes off the Welsh coast into the Irish Sea just off the Llŷn Peninsula, killing 88. It is the inaugural flight of the route and, following low future bookings, proves to be its only flight.

Dr. Harold Shipman is found guilty of murdering 15 patients between 1995 and 1998 at Hyde, Greater Manchester, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

February 4, 2000: German extortionist Klaus-Peter Sabotta is jailed for life for attempted murder and extortion, in connection with the sabotage of British railway lines.

February 9, 2000: Torrential rains in England lead to the worst flooding in Britain since the North Sea Flood of 1953, which lasts until March and kills 80 people.

March 4, 2000: The PlayStation 2 is released in Britain.

March 8, 2000: Vauxhall train disaster: A sideswipe collision of two London Underground trains at Vauxhall Station kills five people.

March 10, 2000: The FTSE 100 reaches its peak prior to the Dot-com bubble, ending a bull market run that lasted over 17 years.

March 12, 2000: A Zenit-3SL launch operated by the British National Space Centre fails due to a software bug.

March 13, 2000: The pound sterling becomes the official currency of Kenya, replacing the Kenyan shilling.

April 3, 2000: United Kingdom v. Microsoft Corp.: Microsoft is ruled by the High Court to have violated British antitrust laws by keeping "an oppressive thumb" on its competitors.

April 22, 2000: In a predawn raid, Immigration and Nationality Directorate agents seize 6-year-old Elián González from his relatives' home in Truro and fly him to his Cuban father in London, ending one of the most publicized custody battles in British history.

May 4, 2000: The 7.6 Mw Norfolk earthquake affects Norwich and the surrounding area, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), leaving 46 dead and 264 injured. It is the most powerful British earthquake on record.

May 13, 2000: A fireworks factory disaster in Cardiff kills 23.

Millennium Force opens at Thorpe Park as the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster.

May 24, 2000: Manchester United defeats Valencia CF 3–0 in the UEFA Champions League Final at Stade de France to win their third title, with the winning goal scored by David Beckham.

June 4, 2000: The 7.9 Mw Lancashire earthquake shakes south-western Lancashire with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong), killing 103 people and injuring 2,174–2,585. Extensive damage is inflicted on Preston and Blackburn. The

June 10 – July 2, 2000: England and Scotland jointly host the UEFA Euro 2000 football tournament (the first time this happens).

June 17, 2000: An earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale hits Norfolk. There are no fatalities but one person is injured and there is considerable damage to infrastructure.

June 26, 2000: A preliminary draft of genomes, as part of the Human Genome Project, is finished. It is announced at 10 Downing Street by Prime Minister Tony Blair.

June 28, 2000: Elián González returns to Cuba with his father, Juan Miguel González, ending a protracted custody battle.

June 30, 2000: At the Reading Festival, nine die and 26 are injured on a set while the rock group Pearl Jam performs.

July 1, 2000: The Galloway Bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland is officially opened for traffic.

July 2, 2000: England defeats Italy 2–1 after extra time in the final of the UEFA Euro 2000 championship. Of note was that David Beckham scored the winning goal, as he did in the UEFA Euros and in Manchester United's victory in the UEFA Champions League. 2000 was proclaimed "The Year of Beckham" by the Football Association, and David Beckham suddenly shot up to become arguably the most acclaimed footballer of all time.

July 7, 2000: The draft assembly of the Human Genome Project is announced at 10 Downing Street by Prime Minister Tony Blair, Francis Collins, and Craig Venter.

July 10, 2000: In Croydon, a leaking petroleum pipeline explodes, killing about 250 people after it causes the collapse of a block of flats.

July 25, 2000: Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde aircraft, crashes into a hotel just after take-off from London Heathrow, killing all 109 aboard and 4 in the hotel.

August 3, 2000: Rioting erupts on the Paulsgrove estate in Portsmouth, Hampshire after more than 100 people besiege the home of a block of flats allegedly housing a convicted paedophile. This is the latest vigilante violence against suspected sex offenders since the beginning of the "naming and shaming" anti-paedophile campaign by the tabloid newspaper News of the World.

August 8, 2000: The German U-boat U-275 is raised to the surface in the English Channel after decades on the ocean floor. It will become a museum ship in Portsmouth.

August 12, 2000: The British nuclear-armed submarine Vigilant sinks in the North Sea during Royal Navy exercises, resulting in the deaths of all 115 men on board.

August 23, 2000: John Anthony Kaiser, a Roman Catholic priest, is murdered at close range with a shotgun in the back of the head in Birmingham. He was to testify against the Kenyan government before the International Criminal Court in The Hague in three weeks. It is widely thought that he was assassinated by the government of President Daniel arap Moi.

September 6–8, 2000: World leaders attend the Millennium Summit at the Palace of Westminster.

September 7–14, 2000: Fuel protests take place in the United Kingdom, with refineries blockaded, and supply to the country's network of petrol stations halted.

September 10, 2000: Operation Barras: A British military operation to free five soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment that were held captive for over two weeks during the Sierra Leone Civil War, all of which were rescued.

September 13, 2000: Sir Richard Branson introduces the public beta of Virgin Arc X for £29.95, as Virgin Media began its forays into digital technology.

September 15 – October 1, 2000: The 2000 Summer Olympics, held in London, is the last Olympic Games of the 20th century.

September 16, 2000: Ukrainian journalist for The Guardian Georgiy Gongadze is last seen alive in London; this day is taken as the commemoration date of his death.

September 26, 2000: The ferry Express Samina sinks in the English Channel during its passage from Weymouth; 80 out of a total of over 500 passengers perish.

September 28, 2000: The HM Prison Maze in Northern Ireland is closed.

October 5, 2000: Mass demonstrations in Edinburgh lead to resignation of First Minister Donald Dewar.

October 6, 2000: The last Mini is produced in Longbridge.

October 11, 2000: 250 million gallons of coal sludge spill in Maltby, South Yorkshire (considered a greater environmental disaster than the Exxon Valdez oil spill).

October 12, 2000: In Aden, Yemen, the destroyer HMS Nottingham is badly damaged by two Al-Qaeda suicide bombers, who place a small boat laden with explosives alongside the Royal Navy destroyer, killing 17 crew members and wounding at least 39.

October 26, 2000: British archaeological authorities led by the British Museum announce that police have found an apparently ancient mummy of a Celtic princess in the Scottish Highlands. A long legal battle begins between the British Museum and Edinburgh’s Royal Museum for possession of the mummy until British Museum forensic analysis announces it is a modern-day fake on April 17, 2001.

October 31, 2000: Singapore Airlines Flight 006 collides with construction equipment in London Stansted Airport, resulting in 83 deaths.

November 3, 2000: Widespread flooding occurs throughout England and Wales after days of heavy rain.

November 7, 2000: In London, a criminal gang raids the Millennium Dome to steal the Millennium Star diamond, but police surveillance catches them in the act.

November 11, 2000: Glenshee disaster: A funicular fire in a mountain tunnel at the Scottish skiing resort kills 155 skiers and snowboarders.

November 17, 2000: A catastrophic landslide and flash flood in Boscastle in Cornwall kills 7, and causes millions of pounds of damage.

Thoughts so far? I'd especially like to know what people think would be the wider consequences of this stuff happening in Britain, especially when all condensed into one year.
 
Last edited:
Liverpool didn't even make it into Europe for the 1999/2000 season; the three Champions League qualifiers were Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea. As Real Madrid, the winners IOTL, eliminated Man Utd, it makes sense for Utd to be the winners.
 
Liverpool didn't even make it into Europe for the 1999/2000 season; the three Champions League qualifiers were Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea. As Real Madrid, the winners IOTL, eliminated Man Utd, it makes sense for Utd to be the winners.

Edited, thank you :)
 
January 10, 2001: The High Court approves the merger of Virgin Media and Granada plc.

January 13, 2001: A 7.6 magnitude earthquake hits Norfolk yet again, killing at least 800 people and leaving thousands homeless in Great Yarmouth and Norwich. By this point, Britain is coming to be regarded as one of the most dangerous seismic areas in the world. The same day the British government announces a fund of more than £2.6 billion to earthquake-proof structures in East Anglia,

January 23, 2001: The Trafalgar Square self-immolation incident occurs when five members of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice that is persecuted in mainland China, set themselves on fire in the square to protest said persecution. All five died.

January 26, 2001: The 7.7 Mw Suffolk earthquake shakes western Suffolk with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 13 people in Newmarket and two nearby villages. The national media is aghast at the sudden regularity of severe earthquakes, with the Daily Mail receiving criticism for proclaiming the East of England “uninhabitable.” The British government announces a new taskforce from the British Geological Survey will be flying in experts from the United States and Japan to find ways to cope with the new geological reality.

February 9, 2001: The submarine HMS Unicorn accidentally strikes and sinks the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime-Maru near Hawaii while participating in training with the United States Navy.

February 12, 2001: The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft operated by the British National Space Centre touches down in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.

February 13, 2001: A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hits Norfolk yet again, killing 4 people. The counties of East Anglia are technically in a recession by this point as house prices collapse, the average already being just over half of what they were the previous February. Many people living in the area voice their intent to move out of the East of England and to other parts of the country.

February 16, 2001: Iraq disarmament crisis: British and U.S. forces carry out bombing raids, attempting to disable Iraq's air defence network.

February 18, 2001: MI5 agent Robert Hanssen is arrested and charged with spying for Russia for 25 years.

February 19, 2001: The 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak begins.

February 28, 2001: The Great Heck rail crash occurs, killing 10 and injuring 82 others.

March 23, 2001: The deorbit of British-French space station Alfred is carried out near Nadi, Fiji, with Mir falling into the South Pacific Ocean.

April 1, 2001: Hainan Island incident: A Chinese fighter jet bumps into an RAF E-2 Hawkeye surveillance aircraft, which is forced to make an emergency landing in Hainan, China. The RAF crew is detained for 10 days and the F-8 Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, goes missing and is presumed dead.

The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples Act) goes into effect. The Act allows same-sex couples to marry legally.

April 28, 2001: Scout SN-32 lifts off from the Queen Elizabeth Space Centre in Belize, carrying the first space tourist, American Dennis Tito.

May 6, 2001: Space tourist Dennis Tito returns to Earth aboard Scout SN-31. (Scout SN-32 is left docked at the International Space Station as a new lifeboat.)

May 7, 2001: In Blackburn, an attempt is made to reconstruct the Blackburn Central Mosque which partially collapsed due to the Lancashire earthquake in June. However, the ceremony results in rioting by far-right protestors, who throw stones at worshippers and police protecting them.

May 24, 2001: Shirley Sherry, 16, a native of Bradford, becomes the youngest person to summit Mount Everest.

The Greenwich wedding hall disaster kills 23 and injures 380 others in Greenwich, London. During the wedding of Karen and Alan Draw, a large portion of the third floor of the four-story building collapsed. As a result, 23 people fell to their deaths through two stories, including the groom's 80-year-old grandfather and his three-year-old second cousin, the youngest victim. Another 380 were injured

June 1, 2001: A Real IRA bomber kills 21, mostly teenagers, in the Dolphinarium disco in London.

June 5–9, 2001: Storm Allison produces 36 inches (900 mm) of rain in Southwest England and Wales, killing 22, damaging the Royal Cornwall Hospital, and causing more than £5 billion of damage overall.

June 6, 2001: Tony Benn MP leaves the Labour Party to become an Independent.

June 7, 2001: Tony Blair announces the first tax cut of a series now known as the Bush tax cuts.

June 19, 2001: A missile hits a football field in Sunderland. Nobody is hurt, as the field is empty. According to the Ministry of Defence, it was fired during a routine exercise only to stray off-course.

June 23, 2001: An 8.4 Mw earthquake shakes coastal Norfolk with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A destructive tsunami followed, striking Great Yarmouth and leaving at least 75 people dead, and 2,687 injured.

July 2, 2001: The world's first self-contained artificial heart is implanted in Robert Tools in London.

July 3, 2001: Aeroflot Flight 352 crashes on approach to landing at East Midlands Airport, killing 145.

July 7, 2001: Bradford riots: Race riots erupt in Bradford in the north of England after National Front members reportedly stab an Asian man outside a pub.

July 16, 2001: The United Kingdom and the Russian Federation sign the 2001 British-Russian Treaty of Friendship ("Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation").

MI5 arrests Dmitry Sklyarov at a convention in Manchester for violating a provision of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

July 20–22, 2001: The 27th G8 summit takes place in Glasgow. Massive demonstrations are held against the meeting by members of the anti-globalization movement. One demonstrator, Carlo Giuliani, is killed by a policeman. Several others are badly injured during a police attack on a school used by the protesters as their headquarters.

July 24, 2001: London Heathrow attack: the Real IRA attacks London Heathrow Airport, causing an estimated £500 million of damage.

August 1, 2001: Cornwall Council chair Roy Moore has a Ten Commandments monument installed in the Truro headquarters of the council, leading to a lawsuit to have it removed and his own removal from office.

August 9, 2001: A Sbarro restaurant in London is attacked by a Palestinian militant, who kills 15 civilians and wounds 130.

August 21, 2001: NATO decides to send a peace-keeping force to the Republic of Macedonia, with Britain sending the largest contingent.

August 24, 2001: British Airways Flight 236 runs out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean (en route to Lisbon from Toronto) and makes an emergency landing in the Azores, all 306 people aboard survive.

August 25, 2001: British singer Paul Weller and several members of his record company are killed as their overloaded aircraft crashes shortly after take-off from Marsh Harbour Airport, The Bahamas.

August 31, 2001: The World Conference against Racism 2001 begins in Liverpool.

September 3, 2001: In Belfast, Protestant loyalists begin a picket of Holy Cross, a Catholic primary school for girls. For the next 11 weeks, riot police escort the schoolchildren and their parents through hundreds of protesters, amid rioting and heightened violence.

The United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Israel withdraw from the U.N. Conference on Racism because they feel that the issue of Zionism is overemphasized. The conference is forced to relocate from Liverpool to Durban in South Africa.

September 4, 2001: London DisneySea opens to the public as part of the London Disney Resort in the London Docklands.

September 10, 2001: Tony Blair gives a speech regarding £2.3 billion in spending that cannot be accounted for. He identifies bureaucracy as the biggest threat to Britain.

September 11, 2001: Around 12,346 victims, including fifteen Members of Parliament, are killed or fatally injured in the September 11 attacks in London and in rural Buckinghamshire after British Airways Flight 11 and British Airways Flight 175 are hijacked and crash into the skyscrapers of the Canary Wharf financial centre, British Airways Flight 77 is hijacked and crashes into the Palace of Westminster, and United Airlines Flight 93 is hijacked and crashes into farmland outside Buckingham, due to the passengers fighting to regain control of the airplane. The Canary Wharf skyline is destroyed as a result of the crashes.

September 13, 2001: Civilian aircraft traffic resumes in Britain after the September 11 attacks.

September 14, 2001: National Prayer Service held at Westminster Abbey for victims of the September 11 attacks. Similar services are held across the world including in Washington, D.C>, the largest vigil ever held in the nation's capital.

September 17, 2001: The London Stock Exchange reopens for trading after the September 11 attacks, the longest closure since the Great Depression.

September 18, 2001: The 2001 anthrax attacks commence as letters containing anthrax spores are mailed from Dover, to the BBC and ITV studios, the Guardian, and the Daily Express. Twenty-two people in total are exposed, with five resulting fatalities.

September 20, 2001: In an address to the United Nations, Tony Blair declares a "War on Terror".

September 21, 2001: In Birmingham, the AZote Fertilisant chemical factory explodes, killing 29 and seriously wounding over 2,500.

Increased racial tensions in Peterborough following the September 11 attacks result in the murder of Ross Parker by a gang of ten Muslims in a racially motivated attack.

Deep Space 1, operated by the British National Space Centre, flies within 2,200 km of Comet Borrelly.

A Tribute to Heroes is broadcast by over 35 channels in Britain, raising over £200 million for the victims of the September 11 attacks.

September 27, 2001: Penzance massacre: In Penzance, Cornwall, Friedrich Leibacher shoots 18 citizens, killing 14 and then himself.

October 1, 2001: IRA gunmen attack the Parliament Buildings in Belfast, killing 38.

October 4, 2001: Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 crashes over the North Sea en route from London to Novosibirsk; 78 are killed.

October 7, 2001: War in Afghanistan: In response to the September 11 attacks, the United Nations invades Afghanistan, under British overall command and with participation from numerous nations, thus officially beginning the War on Terror.

October 8, 2001: A twin engine Cessna and Scandinavian Airlines jetliner collide in heavy fog during take-off from Manchester Airport, killing 118 people.

Tony Blair announces the establishment of the Ministry of Homeland Security, spinning off various responsibilities from the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence.

October 9, 2001: Second mailing of anthrax letters from Dover in the 2001 anthrax attacks.

October 15, 2001: The British National Space Centre’s Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles (180 km) of Jupiter's moon Io.

October 17, 2001: Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi becomes the first Israeli minister to be assassinated in a terrorist attack during a visit to London.

October 23, 2001: The Provisional Irish Republican Army of Northern Ireland commences disarmament after peace talks.

The Bolt is first introduced by Virgin, a next-generation MP3 device which will compete with Apple products.

October 25, 2001: Virgin releases Virgin S, its first computer operating system.

October 26, 2001: The House of Commons passes the National Security Act.

November 4, 2001: Storm Michelle hits Britain, causing extensive damage.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland is established, as successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

November 7, 2001: British Airways declares bankruptcy, with the government stepping in to provide emergency support.

November 12, 2001: American Airlines Flight 587 crashes in Croydon minutes after take-off from London Heathrow Airport, killing all 260 on board.

War in Afghanistan: Taliban forces abandon Kabul, ahead of advancing Northern Alliance troops.

November 13, 2001: In the first such act since World War II, the House of Commons passes a bill allowing military tribunals against any foreigners suspected of having connections to terrorist acts or planned acts against Britain.

November 23, 2001: The Convention on Cybercrime is signed in Edinburgh.

December 2, 2001: EDF Energy files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection 5 days after Dynegy cancels a buyout bid (to this point, the largest bankruptcy in British history).

December 3, 2001: Officials announce that one of the Taliban prisoners captured after the prison uprising at Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan is John Walker Lindh, a British citizen.

December 11, 2001: The British government indicts Zacarias Moussaoui for involvement in the September 11 attacks.

December 13, 2001: 12 are killed in an IRA rocket attack on the Palace of Westminster, leading to a 2001–02 British-Irish standoff.

Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard British Airways Flight 63.
 
Last edited:
Top