| 1st January 2002 | Euro notes and coins are issued in France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Finland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, Ireland and the Netherlands. |
| 31st January 2002 | A large section of the Antarctic Larsen Ice Shelf begins disintegrating, consuming about 3,250 km (1,254 miles) over thirty-five days. |
| 8-24th February 2002 | The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City, Utah. |
| 9th February 2002 | Princess Margaret, the Queen’s sister, dies in hospital after suffering a stroke. |
| 12th February 2002 | The trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic begins at the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague. |
| 19th March 2002 | US Attack on Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda ends after killing 500 Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters, with eleven allied troop fatalities. The attack had started on 1st March. |
| 30th March 2002 | The Queen Mother dies in her sleep at the Royal lodge, she was 101-years-old. |
| 30th May 2002 | The final piece of debris from The World Trade Centre is removed from Ground Zero. |
| 31st May 2002 | The 2002 FIFA World Cup begins, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. Brazil beats Germany 2-0 in the final. |
| 3rd June 2002 | “The Party in the Palace” pop concert takes place at Buckingham Palace to commemorate the Queen's Golden Jubilee. |
| 10th July 2002 | At a Sotheby's auction, Peter Paul Rubens' painting "The Massacre of the Innocents" (first version) is sold for £49.5million to Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet. |
| 14th July 2002 | Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt during Bastille Day celebrations. |
| 21st August 2002 | Forensic experts confirm that bodies found days earlier are those of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman; Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr are charged in relation to their deaths. |
| 12th September 2002 | U.S. President George W. Bush addresses the United Nations and challenges its members to confront the "grave and gathering danger" of Iraq, or stand aside as the United States and likeminded nations act. |
| 12th October 2002 | Terrorists detonate bombs in two nightclubs in Kuta, Bali, killing 202 people and injuring over 300. |
| 18th November 2002 | Iraq Disarmament Crisis: United Nations weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix arrive in Iraq. |