How One Direction celebrated their 10th anniversary
It wasn't quite a reunion...
Last updated 25th Feb 2022
Back in 2020 it was an impressive 10 YEARS since Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik were put together on The X Factor to create worldwide phenomenon One Direction.
After the boys went on to achieve global success, selling singles, albums and sold-out tours across the world, Directioners were heartbroken in 2015 when Zayn Malik announced he was leaving the band, followed by more heartbreak months later when the boys announced they were going on a hiatus.
Since that moment, despite all five members of the popular band going on to release solo material, 1D fans have been crying out for a One Direction reunion, with many thinking it could happen to celebrate their 10th anniversary in July 2020.
Although it wasn't a reunion as such, One Direction did have plans to celebrate their anniversary, which left fans VERY excited!
1D launched a special website called '10 Years of 1D', which went live on Thursday 23rd July 2020, the official date of their anniversary.
The website followed the band's amazing career timelines, from meeting on The X Factor, to going their separate ways as solo artists. As well as this, a load of old content was visible for fans, including archived TV performances, behind-the-scenes videos, music videos and artwork!
As if this wasn't enough, a special 10-year celebration video was made for YouTube, which showed highlights of 1D's global success over the last decade.
Fans were also be able to relive some of One Direction's greatest music, with reformatted EPs, B-sides, remixes, acoustic performances, and live recordings all grouped together on streaming platforms.
Talk of a reunion has been doing the rounds for many years, check out all of the One Direction reunion rumours below:
Harry Styles talks about a Zoom reunion
In April 2020, as the nation were in lockdown due to the Coronavirus, Harry spoke to SiriusXM Hits 1, jokingly admitting he didn't expect the 1D reunion to be over a Zoom call.
He said: "I don't know if a Zoom call is the reunion that we had in mind."
Liam Payne sent fans into meltdown
Just days later, Liam Payne sent Directioners into complete meltdown when he revealed a number of emails had been forwarded, admitting it was great for the boys to 'connect' again.
Liam said: "We've got a 10-year anniversary coming up so we've all been speaking together a lot over the last few weeks, which has been really nice."
#OneDirectionReunion trends on Twitter
Not long after Liam's interview, eagle-eyed fans noticed Harry, Louis, Liam and Niall had all followed former member Zayn Malik on Twitter, resulting in #OneDirectionReunion to start trending.
However, after further inspection, fans were quick to point out that they'd followed Zayn for a while, making it a bit of a false alarm!
Was new One Direction music on the cards?
Also in April, American showbiz site Page Six reported that One Direction could release new music for their 10th anniversary in July 2020, as well as a TV special!
Niall sends fans wild on Instagram Live
During an Instagram Live, Niall teased Directioners by touching his hair when a fan asked him to if the reunion rumours were true. Hmm.
Liam Payne talked with James Corden about a reunion
Liam chatted with The Late Late Show host James Corden, where he confessed he'd been in recent contact with both Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan!
He told James he'd enjoyed a 'beautiful' FaceTime with Niall. Aww!
Louis Tomlinson 'tells off' Liam Payne for revealing too much
After Liam got a little excited and started to dish out too much information, the singer revealed during an Instagram Live with Alesso that Louis had 'told him off' for revealing the plans.
Niall Horan shuts down reunion rumours
With July getting closer, Niall Horan broke the hearts of 1D fans across the world in May when he seemingly shut down all talk of a 2020 reunion.
Speaking to his friend Jamie Redknapp on Redknapp's Home Fixture, Niall said, "There was a bit of talk about it because in July it's ten years since the band got together, so everyone was waiting to see if anything was going to happen.
'We've been chatting about it, little bits and pieces that we can do, but nothing in terms of getting the band back together, so for now, no."
10th anniversary plans
Despite many holding out for an actual reunion, 1D launched a special website called '10 Years of One Direction', which went active on Thursday 23rd July, the official date of their anniversary.
The website went through the band's amazing career timelines, from meeting on The X Factor, to going their separate ways as solo artists. As well as this, a load of old content was visible for fans, including archived TV performances, behind-the-scenes videos, music videos and artwork!
A special 10-year celebration video was made for YouTube, which brought a tear to the eye as it highlights 1D's global success over the last decade.
Fans thought Harry could feature on Niall's album
Fans thought they'd spotted some similarities between Niall's album and a music video that Harry was spotted filming.
Harry Styles posted a pic of him wearing a One Direction T-shirt
Harry Styles posted a pic of him wearing a One Direction T-shirt. The photo appeared as an Instagram Story, but was quickly deleted by the singer. Of course it wasn't long before fans shared the photo across social media and reunion rumours started.
Harry later told fans at his Auckland gig: "I guess some of us have secrets! Maybe, maybe like some people, you chose to keep it to yourself and maybe one day, you'll like accidentally post it to your Instagram followers."
Liam Payne 'desperate' for a reunion
According to a source speaking to OK!, Liam Payne really wants a One Direction reunion and is trying to reach out to the other band members.
Now read:
One Direction through the years
Take our ultimate One Direction quiz
One Direction V Little Mix in numbers
One Direction's most successful music videos