The biggest news stories of 2023
It's been quite the year for news
Last updated 27th Dec 2023
2023 will be remembered for many reasons... We crowned a new king, hosted a historic Eurovision Song Contest and managed to last the whole year with just ONE Prime Minister!
Sadly, 2023 also saw many high-profile and celebrity deaths, losing the likes of Matthew Perry, Paul O'Grady and Tina Turner.
The year has also seen conflict both in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In fact, so much happened in 2023 it's tough to remember it all, here are the biggest stories of the year:
All the major stories from 2023:
King Charles was crowned
In May the country, and the world, had its eyes fixed on London for the first UK Coronation in 70 years as King Charles II ascended to the throne alongside Queen Camilla.
18 million people across the country sat in front of their tv to watch the event.
Iconic Sycamore Gap tree cut down
In one of the more shocking, unexpected and unusual stories of the year, the iconic sycamore tree situated in Northumberland was cut down during the night.
The tree, which was owned and operated by the National Trust and was 200 years old meant so much to a lot of people who chose it as a backdrop for weddings, photographs, ashes scattering and other meaningful events.
The famous faces we lost
This year we said goodbye to many much-loved celebrities, and well-known personalities.
Paul O'Grady, Paul Cattermole, Matthew Perry, Tina Turner, Shane McGowan, Sinead O'Connor, Tony Bennett, Michael Gambon and many more of our favourite faces have sadly passed away.
The disappearance of Nicola Bulley
On 27th January Nicola Bulley from Inskip in Lancashire went missing. Her disappearance launched a large scale search operation, lasting three weeks and focussing on the river Wyre.
Nicola's body was eventually found a few hundred metres from where it's believed she fell into the river. Her death was declared 'accidental drowning' at a later inquest.
War in Gaza
On 7th October a group of Hamas militants killed more than a thousand people in Israel. Israel responded, attacking Gaza with air-strikes. The conflict has been ongoing and has so far been thought to have cost tens of thousands of lives.
Strikes, strikes and more strikes
This year saw a continuation of strikes in several sectors across the UK's workforce.
Doctors, nurses, teachers, rail workers, legal workers, and civil servants, all walked out in rows over pay and working conditions in an increasingly difficult economy.
Lionesses make it to World Cup Final
England's footballers did the country proud by making it to the World Cup Final, narrowly losing to Spain 1-0 in the final game to come runners-up.
It was the first major tournament since the side won the European Championships in 2022.
Turkey earthquake
In February a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria, followed by a 7.7 quake which left 1.5 million people homeless.
The confirmed death toll reached 59,259, making it the deadliest earthquake in modern Turkish history.
Huw Edwards suspended from the BBC
Long time presenter and newsreader Huw Edwards was suspended from the BBC following a Sun article claiming a 'well-known' BBC presenter had paid in excess of £35k for images from a young man which started when he was 17 years old.
It's understood Edwards received the result of an internal BBC investigation in November and was not re-instated.
Neo-natal nurse Lucy Letby jailed
In August former neo-natal nurse Lucy Letby was jailed for a rare 'whole life term' after being found guilty of murdering 7 babies and the attempted murder of 6 more between 2015-2016.
She was working at the Countess of Chester Hospital at the time.
Eurovision held in Liverpool
There was a break from tradition in Eurovision as last year's winners, Ukraine were unable to host the competition due to the ongoing conflict. Liverpool was given the honour of hosting the show on behalf of Ukraine.
Usual business was resumed in the competition though, with the UK scoring 24 points and coming second from bottom (Greece won).
Berbenheimer hits the big screen
In the Summer the world was hit by not one, but two blockbuster movies which came out on the same day. Barbie and Oppenheimer, whilst appealing to different demographics became a joint cultural phenomena known as 'Barbenheimer.
The return of Lord Cameron
In November the world of politics was shocked to see the return of former prime minister, now 'Lord' Cameron' make a return to Government, becoming the new Foreign Secretary.
Despite no longer being an elected MP he was allowed to return after being made a peer.
Manchester City win the treble
2023 saw Manchester City win a historic treble of the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup. Pep Guardiola's side were bolstered by their star-signing and record-breaking striker Erling Haaland.
Emergency alert
In April the Government caused a buzz by trialling an 'emergency alert system on all smartphones. People across the country got alerts, although some came through to people's phones later than others.
Covid no longer a 'health emergency'
In May the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Coronavirus pandemic was no longer a 'global health emergency.'
The WHO did say it would be wrong to neglect or ignore the risk the infection still possessed and said that it is still a 'global threat.'
England crash out of Cricket World Cup
Following on from England's heroics in the last two World Cups (ODI in 2019 and T20 last year) Jos Buttler's side went into the tournament as one of the favourites, second only to the home nation India.
The tournament got off to a bad start, losing comfortably to New Zealand. England would go on to lose to everyone in the tournament with the exception of Bangladesh, Netherlands and Pakistan.
Carlos Alcaraz wins Wimbledon
In July, Carlos Alcaraz shocked the world by beating Novak Djokovic in the final at Wimbledon to lift the trophy aged just 20.
The final on Centre Court was only his 18th official match on grass.
Covid Inquiry gets underway
Following the global pandemic which saw millions of people around the world lose their lives, the Government was subject to a full independent inquiry looking into their handling of the emergency.
Called to the inquiry to defend their actions were the likes of Matt Hancock, Michael Gove, then former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Phil Schofield leaves This Morning
Following large scale media coverage of Schofield's extramarital affair with a younger male colleague, he stood down from his presenting duties on This Morning.
He was also stripped of his patronage on The Prince's Trust and let go by his agency with whom he'd been with for over 35 years.
AI - the biggest threat to humanity?
In November, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak invited the world to a summit on AI (Artificial Intelligence.) It was held at Bletchley Park, the site of the famous work by Alan Turing and his team to crack the Enigma code during WWII.
Nations who attended the summit agreed to work cooperatively to manage the risks of AI.
New First Minister for Scotland
A new First Minister for Scotland was elected after Nicola Sturgeon resigned.
In her resignation she said she expected the next leader to lead Scotland to independence.
Hamza Yousaf became the new leader of the SNP and First Minister in March.
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