the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 2002 in Britain

To be fifteen in Britain in 2002 was to have “Anything Is Possible / Evergreen” by Will Young everywhere, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on every screen, and Pop Idol on after school. That year, gas cost 72.9p/L and the euro entering circulation across the Channel was the new thing. Born in 1987? You turned 15 in 2002 — a teenager from 2000 to 2006, right in the window a soundtrack bonds to you for life.

Compiled by the Original Lore archive from period charts, box-office and price records. How we build these · sources noted throughout.

▶ Play your 2002 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 2002

Anything Is Possible / Evergreen — Will Young

Evergreen — Will YoungThe first Pop Idol winner, the record you voted for and half the country cried along to.
Unchained Melody — Gareth GatesGareth Gates's stammer-defying ballad, teatime telly triumph before the biggest reality-TV summer of your life.
Hot in Herre — NellyNelly with the plaster under his eye, the sticky, sweaty, air-conditioned sound of that heatwave.
A Little Less Conversation — Elvis vs JXLWorld Cup Elvis remixed for the Nike advert, that 'baby, baby, baby' strutting through June.
Just a Little — Liberty XThe runners-up who won anyway, Liberty X pop shrugging its way through a reality-obsessed summer.

▶ Play your 2002 reel

why this one mattered

The whole country voted, then bought it — Will Young beating Gareth Gates on the first Pop Idol made this the year's biggest single by miles. If you were 15 in 2002, Saturday nights were the phone-vote and Ant & Dec, and this ballad is that whole shared national ritual.

the year-end #1 was the year's best-seller and fastest-selling debut of its time.

the movies you are watching in 2002

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Spider-Man
Die Another Day
Ice Age

the tv shows you are binging in 2002

Pop Idol
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
Big Brother
The Office
Fame Academy

the games you are playing in 2002

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
Kingdom Hearts
Super Mario Sunshine
TimeSplitters 2
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance

what things cost in 2002

What things cost in 2002
a pint of lager	£2.30
a cinema ticket	£4.30
the national minimum wage (adult)	£4.20/hr
a gallon of gas	72.9p/L
a first-class stamp	27p
the average income	£25,200

trending this year

the euro — Photo by Avij (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Euro_coins_and_banknotes.jpg · Public domain

the camera phone — Photo by Miguel Duran (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nokia_7650_01.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.5

I'm a Celebrity... — AI-generated illustration

Sky+ — Photo by Rcsprinter123 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sky%2B_box.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0

Spider-Man — Fir0002/Flagstaffotos, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

the gadgets you just got

the second-generation iPod — Photo by fhke (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPod_second_generation-2007-07-29.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0

Nokia 7650 — Photo by Miguel Durán (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nokia_7650_01.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.5

Sky+ box — Photo by Rcsprinter123 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sky%2B_box.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0

the BlackBerry — Photo by rfdigitalwpg (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RIM_BlackBerry_R957M_(2000).jpg · CC BY 2.0

Xbox — Evan-Amos (Vanamo Media) · Public Domain

what everyone is snacking on

Photo by HardyNathan (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wotsits_Reallly_Cheesy.jpg · CC0

Monster Munch — Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monster_Munch_pickled_onion_1.jpg · CC0

Dairylea Lunchables — AI-generated illustration

Rolos — Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rolo-Candies-US.jpg · CC0

what everyone is drinking

Irn-Bru — Photo by He Scores ? (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Irnbruglassandbottle334.jpg · CC BY 3.0

Red Bull — VincentLR, Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lattina_di_Red_Bull.jpg) · CC BY-SA 4.0

what made the news in 2002

The Queen Mother dies aged 101 and the nation queues to pay respects
The Golden Jubilee celebrates 50 years of the Queen's reign with a Buckingham Palace pop concert
England go out of the World Cup to Brazil after Ronaldinho lobs David Seaman
Soham murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman grip and horrify the country

The Queen Mother dies aged 101 — Photo by Queensland State Archives (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Her_Majesty_Queen_Elizabeth_The_Queen_Mother_at_State_Reception,_February_1958_(5948385093).jpg · Public domain

The Golden Jubilee marks 50 years of the Queen's reign — Photo by UK Government (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Queen_Elizabeth_II_with_her_British_Prime_Ministers_during_her_Golden_Jubilee_in_2002.jpg · OGL 3

England knocked out of the World Cup by Brazil — AI-generated illustration

The Soham murders shock the nation — AI-generated illustration

ITV Digital collapses, plunging lower-league football into crisis — Photo by onDigital / ITV Digital (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ondigitallogo.PNG · Public domain

what everyone is saying

"Minging"disgusting or ugly, courtesy of Big Brother's Jade Goody
"Whatever!"the ultimate teenage brush-off
"Booyakasha"Ali G's exclamation, quoted in every playground
"Respect"Ali G's sign-off, complete with hand gesture
"Sound"meaning good or reliable, 'he's sound'

the summer of 2002.

the best of it still feels like it's coming.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 2002 goes.

Turn 2002 into a 30-second reel →