the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 2016 in Britain

To be fifteen in Britain in 2016 was to have “One Dance” by Drake feat. Wizkid & Kyla everywhere, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on every screen, and Planet Earth II on after school. That year, gas cost £1.09/L and Pokémon GO taking over every park was the new thing. Born in 2001? You turned 15 in 2016 — a teenager from 2014 to 2020, 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 2016 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 2016

One Dance — Drake feat. Wizkid & Kyla

  1. One Dance — Drake feat. Wizkid & KylaDrake and Kyla's endless, hazy number one, the afrobeats-tinged sound of every barbecue in a strange, heavy year.
  2. This Is What You Came For — Calvin Harris feat. RihannaCalvin and Rihanna's glossy dance shimmer, the poolside soundtrack to scrolling your phone through a long, restless summer.
  3. Cheap Thrills — Sia feat. Sean PaulSia and Sean Paul's don't-need-money bounce, blaring from every phone speaker on the last bus into town.
  4. Cold Water — Major Lazer feat. Justin Bieber & MØBieber and MØ over Major Lazer, that woozy tropical drop soundtracking texts you sent and immediately regretted.
  5. Dancing On My Own — Calum ScottCalum Scott's tearful Robyn cover, the one you played alone at the party, dancing on your own for real.

▶ Play your 2016 reel

why this one mattered

Fifteen weeks at number one and it soundtracked every school field, every phone speaker, every last summer before GCSEs. That Kyla 'Do You Mind' sample and the afrobeats sway — this was the sound of British 2016, inescapable and warm.

the year-end #1 was the UK's best-selling single of 2016.

the movies you are watching in 2016

  • Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
  • Bridget Jones's Baby
  • Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  • Deadpool
  • Captain America: Civil War

the tv shows you are binging in 2016

  • Planet Earth II
  • The Great British Bake Off
  • Love Island
  • Peaky Blinders
  • Gogglebox

the games you are playing in 2016

  • Pokémon GO
  • FIFA 17
  • Pokémon Sun and Moon
  • Overwatch
  • Uncharted 4
  • Battlefield 1

what things cost in 2016

What things cost in 2016
a pint of lager£3.60
a cinema ticket£7.23
a litre of petrol£1.09
a gallon of gas£1.09/L
minimum wage£7.20/hr
a first-class stamp£0.64
the average income£28,200

trending this year

Pokémon GO
Photo by Nintendo (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pok%C3%A9mon_GO_logo.svg · Public domain
Pokémon GO
The new polymer £5 note
The Sugar Tax announcement
AI-generated illustration
The Sugar Tax announcement
Deliveroo
Photo by shopblocks (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Deliveroo_Cyclist_on_a_Bike_in_Manchester.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Deliveroo
Pokemon Go
Photo by Roger Lew, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pokemon Go

the gadgets you just got

iPhone 7
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_7.jpg · CC0
iPhone 7
Nintendo Classic Mini NES
Photo by DemonDays64 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NES_Classic_Edition_with_controller.jpg · CC BY 4.0
Nintendo Classic Mini NES
PlayStation VR
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sony-PlayStation-4-PSVR-Headset-Mk1-FL.jpg · Public domain
PlayStation VR
Amazon Echo
Photo by brewbooks (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amazon_Echo_-_Flickr_-_brewbooks.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Amazon Echo
AirPods
Photo by Maurizio Pesce (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AirPods_(cropped).jpg · CC BY 2.0
AirPods

what everyone is snacking on

Cadbury Freddo
Photo by Dan arndt (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dairy_Milk_Freddo.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cadbury Freddo
Wispa
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wispa-Split.jpg · Public domain
Wispa
Space Raiders
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Space_Raiders_snacks.jpg · CC0
Space Raiders
Percy Pig
Photo by Leigh Harries (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Percy_Pig_(6050229631).jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Percy Pig
Toblerone (with wider gaps)
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Toblerone-Split.jpg · Public domain
Toblerone (with wider gaps)

what everyone is drinking

Capri-Sun
AI-generated illustration
Capri-Sun
Fanta
AI-generated illustration
Fanta
Monster Energy
Bxxiaolin, edited by Pittigrilli, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Can_of_Monster_Energy_drink_sold_in_China_(0.33_l),_on_white_background.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Monster Energy
Ribena
Photo by Melaneas (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ribena-All-Sizes-and-Flavours.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ribena
Innocent Smoothie
Photo by Mx. Granger (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Innocent_Smoothie.jpg · CC0
Innocent Smoothie

what made the news in 2016

  • Britain votes to leave the EU in the Brexit referendum, and David Cameron resigns as PM
  • Leicester City win the Premier League at 5000-1 odds in the greatest sporting shock ever
  • David Bowie dies in January, followed later by Prince and George Michael
  • Team GB finish second in the Rio Olympics medal table with 67 medals
Britain votes for Brexit; David Cameron resigns and Theresa May becomes PM
Photo by Andrew Parsons (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Theresa_May_(2016).jpg · OGL 3
Britain votes for Brexit; David Cameron resigns and Theresa May becomes PM
Leicester City crowned Premier League champions at 5000-1
Photo by Pottercomuneo (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:King_Power_Stadium_wide_view.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Leicester City crowned Premier League champions at 5000-1
David Bowie, Prince and George Michael among the year's celebrity deaths
Photo by Adam Bielawski (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:David-Bowie_Chicago_2002-08-08_photoby_Adam-Bielawski-cropped.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
David Bowie, Prince and George Michael among the year's celebrity deaths
Team GB win 67 medals at the Rio Olympics, finishing second in the table
Photo by Matthias Lemm (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Britain_women%27s_field_hockey_team_2016-08-19.jpg · CC0
Team GB win 67 medals at the Rio Olympics, finishing second in the table
Donald Trump wins the US presidential election
Photo by Gage Skidmore (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Donald_Trump_2016.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Donald Trump wins the US presidential election

what everyone is saying

  • "On fleek"perfectly styled, on point — peak 2016 slang
  • "Bants"shortening of banter, the year's most overused word
  • "Squad goals"aspirational hashtag for your perfect friend group
  • "Do you mind?"the Kyla lyric from One Dance quoted everywhere
  • "Peak"London slang meaning unfortunate or harsh

the summer of 2016.

you think you've got all the time in the world.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 2016 goes.

Turn 2016 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 2016 reel with sound