the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 2024 in Britain

To be fifteen in Britain in 2024 was to have “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan everywhere, Inside Out 2 on every screen, and Mr Bates vs The Post Office on after school. That year, gas cost £1.45/L and Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan breaking through globally was the new thing. Born in 2009? You turned 15 in 2024 — a teenager from 2022 to 2028, 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 2024 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 2024

Stick Season — Noah Kahan

  1. Stick Season — Noah KahanNoah Kahan's ache made British, that folk-heartbreak chorus you cried to on the last train home in autumn.
  2. Espresso — Sabrina CarpenterSabrina Carpenter's cheeky, unstoppable earworm, the undisputed sound of the summer whispered in every queue and car park.
  3. Beautiful Things — Benson BooneBenson Boone's soaring falsetto ballad, belted in the shower and slow-danced to at every end-of-term ball.
  4. Too Sweet — HozierHozier's smoky, bluesy slow-burn, the grown-up ache haunting late-night drives and dim pub corners all year.
  5. Good Luck, Babe! — Chappell RoanChappell Roan's queer-pop breakout, the belting anthem chanted at Pride and every sticky, glorious student dancefloor.

▶ Play your 2024 reel

why this one mattered

The folk-pop ache that soundtracked being 15 in 2024 — Noah's banjo-driven heartbreak spreading through TikTok until the whole country was singing it back at festivals. Melancholy and communal at once, it was the year's biggest song and the sound of a wistful, uncertain summer.

the year-end #1 was the UK's biggest song of 2024.

the movies you are watching in 2024

  • Inside Out 2
  • Wicked
  • Deadpool & Wolverine
  • Despicable Me 4
  • Moana 2

the tv shows you are binging in 2024

  • Mr Bates vs The Post Office
  • Gavin & Stacey
  • Baby Reindeer
  • The Traitors
  • Rivals

the games you are playing in 2024

  • Roblox
  • Fortnite
  • Minecraft
  • EA Sports FC 25
  • Rocket League
  • Baldur's Gate 3

what things cost in 2024

What things cost in 2024
a litre of petrol£1.45
a pint of lager£4.80
a first-class stamp£1.35 (then £1.65)
a gallon of gas£1.45/L
minimum wage£11.44/hr
a movie ticket£8.36
the average income£31,602

trending this year

Oasis reunion tour
Photo by Raph_PH (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OasisCardiff040725-16.jpg · CC BY 4.0
Oasis reunion tour
brat summer
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brat_crossed.jpg · Public domain
brat summer
the Labour landslide
AI-generated illustration
the Labour landslide
Dubai chocolate
Photo by Samizambak (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dubai_chocolate.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dubai chocolate
Apple Intelligence
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_Intelligence.svg · Public domain
Apple Intelligence

the gadgets you just got

iPhone 16 (with Apple Intelligence)
Photo by Padgriffin (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_16_Ultramarine_Rear.png · CC BY 4.0
iPhone 16 (with Apple Intelligence)
Apple Vision Pro
Maurizio Pesce from Milan, Italia, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
Apple Vision Pro
Rabbit R1 / AI pins
Photo by Booredatwork.com (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rabbit_r1_(Booredatwork.com)_04.png · CC BY 3.0
Rabbit R1 / AI pins
Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses
Photo by CCadio (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ray-Ban_Meta_Gen_1_smart_glasses_with_charging_case.jpg · CC BY 4.0
Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses
PS5 Pro
AI-generated illustration
PS5 Pro

what everyone is snacking on

Little Moons mochi
AI-generated illustration
Little Moons mochi
Greggs
Photo by Bob Harvey (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Always_a_Greggs_-_geograph.org.uk_-_4813451.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Greggs
Dubai chocolate
Photo by WiseWoman (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dubai-Schokolade-Riegel-Angeschnitten.jpg · CC BY 4.0
Dubai chocolate
Cadbury
Photo by NINXIVI (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cadbury_Dairy_Milk_-Mini_Bar-_(3951105262).jpg · CC BY 2.0
Cadbury
Freddo
Photo by Dan arndt (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dairy_Milk_Freddo.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Freddo

what everyone is drinking

Guinness
AI-generated illustration
Guinness
matcha lattes
AI-generated illustration
matcha lattes
Espresso Martini
Photo by Ali Waheed (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Espresso_Martini.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Espresso Martini
0% alcohol beers
Photo by Grasmat (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heineken_0.0_bier.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
0% alcohol beers
Prime Hydration
Tbf69 (Toby Farman), via Wikimedia Commons (File:Prime hydration ice pop two bottles.jpg) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Prime Hydration

what made the news in 2024

  • Labour wins a landslide general election; Keir Starmer becomes PM after 14 years of Conservative rule
  • Riots erupt across England after a mass stabbing in Southport kills three children
  • England's men reach the Euro 2024 final, losing to Spain
  • Storm-battered bills ease as inflation returns close to the 2% target
Labour wins a landslide; Keir Starmer becomes Prime Minister after 14 years of Tory rule
Photo by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_Portrait_(cropped).jpg · OGL v3.0
Labour wins a landslide; Keir Starmer becomes Prime Minister after 14 years of Tory rule
Riots break out across England after a mass stabbing in Southport
Photo by StreetMic LiveStream (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Southport_riot.jpg · CC BY 3.0
Riots break out across England after a mass stabbing in Southport
England's men reach the Euro 2024 final, losing to Spain
Photo by Anton Zaytsev (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:England_national_team_Russia_2018.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
England's men reach the Euro 2024 final, losing to Spain
Mr Bates vs The Post Office ITV drama forces action on the Horizon scandal
Photo by Keith Williams (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coventry_Post_Office_-_geograph.org.uk_-_761307.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Mr Bates vs The Post Office ITV drama forces action on the Horizon scandal
Oasis announce their reunion, sparking a ticketing frenzy
Photo by Will Fresch (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oasis_Liam_and_Noel.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Oasis announce their reunion, sparking a ticketing frenzy

what everyone is saying

  • "Brat"the Charli xcx aesthetic and attitude that defined the summer
  • "Brainrot"Oxford Word of the Year 2024, the effect of too much online content
  • "Very demure, very mindful"the viral TikTok catchphrase of the summer
  • "Skibidi"the nonsense Gen Alpha word teachers dreaded
  • "Looking for a man in finance"the TikTok song-turned-meme of 2024

the summer of 2024.

you can't wait to be older.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 2024 goes.

Turn 2024 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 2024 reel with sound