As people around the world celebrated a new millennium, the year 2000 would prove to be one of significant events, especially in politics. As well as a controversial presidential election in the United States, Hilary Clinton became the first First Lady to win public office, and Bill Clinton was the first President to visit Vietnam after the Vietnam War came to an end.
2000 was also the year that Nintendo announced their GameCube, the film American Beauty won numerous awards, and Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston tied the knot. Discover even more iconic news events by choosing a 2000 newspaper from the date of your choice, showing you which big events made the front pages.
2000 Timeline
Turn the page to:
- January
- February
- March
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- November
- December
- Major 2000 Political Events
January
January 1: In New Zealand, the 32,754 population of Gisbourne are the first to see in a new millennium.
January 1: In London, new millennium celebrations take place and the Millennium Dome is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
January 1: Pope John Paul II opens the holy doors of St. Mary Major.
January 1: The “Year 2000 Problem” arises, which eventually and wrongly changes computerised system dates to incorrect dates.
January 2: In basketball, the Orlando Magic are defeated by the Miami Heat, 111-103. This game is the first NBA game to take place in the Miami Heat’s new American Airlines Arena, Miami.
January 2: In Kosheh, Egypt, the Kosheh massacres take place, with 20 Coptic Christians massacred by Muslim villagers.
January 4: American football coach Bill Belichick becomes the Head Coach of the New England Patriots, resigning from his position as Head Coach at the New York Jets just one day after accepting the job.
January 4: In American college football, Virginia Tech are defeated by Florida State in the 66th Sugar Bowl when they play at the Louisiana Superdome. The game ends 46-29.
January 4: Two trains in Asta, Norway collide, resulting in the deaths of 19 people.
January 4: Mark Cuban, American businessman and investor, buys a majority stake in the NBA franchise Dallas Mavericks from H. Ross Perot, Jr. for $285m
January 4: Fiona Thornewill and Catherine Hartley are the first British women to reach the South Pole.
January 6: Britain experiences an outbreak of flu, putting pressure on the NHS.
January 6: After being crushed by a tree, the last remaining Pyrenean ibex is found.
January 7: Jonathan Aitken, a former UK Cabinet minister, is released from prison after serving 9 months of his 18-month sentence. Aitken was convicted of perjury in 1999.
January 8: In the AFC Wild Card Playoff, the Buffalo Bills are defeated by the Tennessee Titans, 22-16. The Titans win in the last 16 seconds of the game, when Kevin Dyson ran the length of the field for a game-winning touchdown, becoming known as the Music City Miracle.
January 6: The 26th People’s Choice Awards take place, with Harrison Ford and Julia Roberts winning awards for the Favourite Motion Picture Actor and Actress, and Drew Crey and Calista Flockhart winning awards Favourite Television Actor and Actress.
January 9: Dan Marino, quarterback for the Miami Dolphins, wins his last career game 20-17 against the Seattle Seahawks.
January 10: An agreement to purchase Time Warner for $162 billion is announced by America Online, becoming the biggest-ever corporate merger.
January 10: For not having a valid train ticket with her on a train journey to Luton from Blackfriars, Cherie Blair, the wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, is fined. She later claimed she only had Portuguese currency with her and she was unable to find a machine to use her credit card.
January 11: Seven sailors lose their lives when Scottish trawler, the Solway Harvester, sinks in the Irish Sea.
January 13: Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft steps aside as chief executive of the company and Steve Ballmer is promoted from company president to this position.
January 14: Following the 1993 killings of more than 100 Muslim people in a village in Bosnia, five Bosnian Croats are sentenced at a United Nations tribunal for up to 25 years.
January 15: In basketball, the Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan is the 12th coach in the history of the NBA to achieve the 700-victory plateau. This achievement came after the Utah Jazz beat the LA Clippers at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City 112-75.
January 17: Shania Twain and Will Smith win awards at the 27th American Music Awards.
January 18: The Earth is impacted by the Tagish Lake meteorite.
January 19: Basketball star Michael Jordan returns to the NBA after leading the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA championships. He joins the Washington Wizards as a part owner, and also becomes the President of Basketball Operations.
January 19: Austrian-American actress and inventor, Hedy Lamarr, passes away from heart failure at the age of 86.
January 23: At the 57th Golden Globe Awards, Denzil Washington wins Best Actor, Hilary Swank wins Best Actress, American Beauty wins Best Drama Motion Picture, and Toy Story 2 wins Best Musical or Comedy Motion Picture.
January 23: When the Dallas Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 99-91 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Mavericks coach Don Nelson becomes the 6th coach in the history of the NBA to win 900 career games.
January 29: Lindsay Davenport, American tennis player, wins her third and final career Grand Slam title when she defeats Martina Hingis in the Australian Open 6-1, 7-5.
January 29: Becoming the third player in the history of the NBA to score 30,000 career points, Utah Jazz basketball player Karl Malone ends with 35 in a loss against Minnesota 96-94.
January 30: Super Bowl XXXIV takes place at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, with the Tennessee Titans defeated by the St. Louis Rams 23-16.
January 30: 169 people lose their lives when Kenya Airways Flight 431 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ivory Coast.
January 30: Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Russian tennis player, is beaten by Andre Agassi 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in the Australian Open Men’s Tennis. The game also gives Agassi his fourth consecutive Grand Slam title.
January 30: The 16th Sundance Film Festival takes place, with Girlfight and You Can Count on Me winning a tie for the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic.
January 31: After experiencing horizontal stabiliser problems, the Alaska Airlines flight 261 MD-83 crashes in the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of Point Mugu in California, resulting in the deaths of all 88 people onboard the flight, marking the second major air crash in two days.
January 31: NFL legend Ray Lewis takes part in a fight with his companions against another group of people that results in the deaths of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar by stabbing. Lewis is indicted for murder and aggravated-assault charges but is later cleared of wrongdoing.
January 31: In one of the most memorable 2000 events, Dr Harold Shipman, a family GP in the UK, is put in jail for life for the murder of 15 of his patients in Greater Manchester between 1995 and 1998. The incident makes him the most prolific convicted serial killer Britain has ever seen. The later inquiry considers that Shipman had killed at least 215 people.
Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman
Image: Wikimedia Commons
February
February 4: For the extortion linked to the sabotage of German railway lines along with attempted murder, Klaus-Peter Sabotta, a German extortionist, is put in jail for life.
February 5: During the Second Chechen War, the Battle of Grozny comes to an end when Russian forces conclude their capture of the Chechen capital Grozny.
February 6: The 50th NHL All Star Game takes place in Toronto, with World defeating North America.
February 7: Through Presidential Ordinance No. V of 2000, Bahria University is established by the Pakistan government.
February 9: Torrential rain causes the worst flooding Mozambique has seen in the last half a century. The rain and flooding lasts until March and ends up killing 800 people.
February 9: Mangolia wins the Golden Bear at the 50th Berlin International Film Festival.
February 11: After a hostile takeover battle, the Royal Bank of Scotland succeeds for its larger English rival, NatWest Bank, defeating an offer made by the Bank of Scotland.
February 12: At the 31st NAACP Image Awards, the Outstanding Motion Picture award is won by The Best Man.
February 12: Former American football coach for the Dallas Cowboys, Tom Landry, passes away at the age of 75.
February 12: Cartoonist Charles M. Schulz passes away at the age of 77. The next day, the original Peanuts cartoon comic strip makes its final appearance in newspapers.
February 13: In Oakland, California, the 49th NBA All-Star Game takes place, with the East being defeated by the West 137-127.
February 14: NEAR Shoemaker enters orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, making the spacecraft the first to orbit an asteroid.
February 15: As New Jersey wins 4-2 against the Philadelphia Flyers, NHL goalie Martin Brodeur is the first goaltender in the history of the league to be credited for a “game winning” goal.
February 15: When a steam generator fails at the Indian Point II nuclear power plant in New York State, a small amount of radioactive steam is vented.
February 15: The Waterhouse report investigating the North Wales child abuse scandal is published.
February 17: The Windows 2000 computer software is released.
February 18: In Croatia, Stjepan Mesić begins his position as the second President.
February 20: The 42nd Daytona 500 takes place, with Bill Elliott and Jeff Gordon being beaten by Dale Jarrett, who wins his third Great American Race.
February 21: The inaugural celebration of International Mother Language Day is held by UNESCO.
February 23: At the 42nd Grammy Awards, Christina Aguilera wins Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performer.
February 25: Victoria Climbié, an eight-year-old girl in London, is murdered after neglect and torture by her guardians, her aunt Marie Therese Kouao and her partner Carl Manning. Local authorities would later be highly criticised for their shortcomings in the case, along with social services departments. The incident led to drastic changes in child protection policies in the United Kingdom.
February 28: After a safety scandal at Sellafield, the chief of British Nuclear Fuels resigns.
February 29: A rare century leap year date took place on this day, since century years are common years in the fact they aren’t exactly divisible by 400. However, the year 2000 is the first century to have a February 29 since the year 1600, meaning it is the only second such occasion since the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar in the late 16th century. The next time such a leap year will take place will be 2400.
February 29: Steely Dan, an American rock band, releases their eighth studio album entitled Two Against Nature. The album is also their first album in 20 years and goes on to win 4 Grammy awards.
March
March 1: In Finland, the constitution is rewritten.
March 2: Augusto Pinochet, former Chilean dictator, travels home following the United Kingdom’s declaration that they wouldn’t extradite him on torture charges. He is deported when the Home Secretary in the UK, Jack Straw, accepts the “unequivocal and unanimous” medical evidence that Pinochet is unfit to stand trial on January 12. Instead, he faces trial in Chile for human rights violations.
March 2: The St. Louis Blues hockey team becomes the second team in the history of the NHL to win 10 consecutive games on the road. They reach this record when they achieve a victory of 5-2 in Atlanta.
March 4: At the 14th Soul Train Music Awards, Mary J. Blige, Prince, DMX and Whitney Houston win awards.
March 4: In Japan, the PlayStation 2 is released. Other releases in Western markets would follow later in the year.
March 8: Five people are killed when a sideswipe collision of two Tokyo Metro trains occurs. The incident is known as the Naka-Meguro derailment.
March 10: Indicating the beginning of the end of the dot-com boom, the NASDAQ Composite stock market index peaks at 5131.52.
March 10: The TV show General Hospital wins at the 16th Soap Opera Digest Awards in the US.
March 12: For all the wrongdoings by members of the Roman Catholic Church throughout the ages, Pope John Paul II issues an apology.
March 12: Due to a software bug, a Zenit-3SL sea launch fails.
March 13: In Ecuador, the United States dollar becomes the official currency, replacing the Ecuadorian sucre.
March 15: It is announced by BMW that they plan to sell the Rover Group. Emerging as favourites for takeover is London-based Alchemy consortium.
March 17: For the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, the 800-plus deaths of the Ugandan cult movement members is regarded to be a mass murder and suicide organised by cult leaders.
March 18: At the inaugural Six Nations Rugby Championship, England defeats Italy 59-12 at the Stadio Flaminio in Rome. Flyhalf for England Jonny Wilkinson kicks 7 goals, with Austin Healey, winger, scoring 3 tries.
March 20: A former Black Panther previously known as H. Rap Brown, Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, is captured after taking part in a gun battle that results in the death of a Georgia sheriff’s deputy.
March 20: The Holy Land, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, is visited by Pope John Paul II.
March 21: Later becoming the 2000 Billboard Album of the Year, N-Sync release No Strings Attached, their fourth studio album.
March 23: In hockey, NHL legend Joe Sakic achieves his 400th career goal, becoming the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche leading point scorer of all time.
March 25: In Northern Ireland, the leadership election of the Ulster Unionist Party is won by David Trimble.
March 26: At the 72nd Academy Awards, the film American Beauty wins, with Kevin Spacey and Hilary Swank winning Best Actor and Actress.
March 27: A Phillips explosion in Pasadena, Texas, kills one person and injures 71 others.
March 27: In the PGA Championship, the champion of 1983, Hal Sutton, wins by a stroke ahead of Tiger Woods.
March 28: A school bus in Murray County, Georgia, is hit by a CSX freight train, resulting in the deaths of three children.
March 30: For his “services for entrepreneurship,” Richard Branson is knighted by Charles, Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace, London.
March 31: After spending 34 years in prison for her involvement in the Moors Murders, serial killer Myra Hindley loses her third High Court appeal against a Home Office ruling that her life sentence should mean life.
April
April 1: At the Palais des Exposition in Nice, France, Michelle Kwan becomes the first American to win three world figure skating titles since Peggy Flemming. She manages to push through all 7 triple jumps to win her title.
April 2: In the third cricket Test against New Zealand, wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist takes his 10th catch. This is an Australian record for dismissals by a wicketkeeper.
April 3: At the 62nd NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, Florida are defeated by Michigan State with a final score of 89-76.
April 3: United States antitrust laws are ruled to be violated by Microsoft in United States v. Microsoft Corp. by keeping “an oppressive thumb” on its competitors.
April 4: In the Isle of Wight, one of the infamous Kray brothers, Charlie Kray, passes away in hospital after suffering a heart attack in Parkhurst Prison. He is 73 years old when he dies.
April 7: Hansie Cronje, the South African cricket captain, is charged by Delhi police for fixing One Day International matches against India.
April 8: A V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft crashes near Marana, Arizona, resulting in the deaths of nineteen US Marines.
April 8: American actress Claire Trevor passes away from respiratory failure at the age of 91.
April 9: At the 53rd British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAS), Pedro Almodovar wins Best Director and American Beauty wins Best Film.
April 11: All on the same day, Comerica Park in Detroit, Minute Maid Park in Houston, and AT&T Park in San Francisco open.
April 11: Following his allegations about match-fixing, Hansie Cronje is sacked from his position as South African cricket captain.
April 12: American author and gun control activist David Hogg is born in Parkland, Florida. Hogg would later survive the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting when he was a student.
April 13: The documentary by Louis Theroux, When Louis Met…, premieres on BBC2 in the United Kingdom and features Jimmy Saville.
April 14: Heavy metal band Metallica files a lawsuit against Napster, the P2P sharing phenomenon. The lawsuit paves the way for the movement against programs enabling file-sharing.
April 14: In Britain, the so-called “M25 killer” Kenneth Noye is sentenced to life imprisonment.
April 17: In the 104th Boston Marathon, Catherine Ndereba wins the women’s title with a time of 2:26:11, and Elijah Lagat wins the men’s race in 2:09:47.
April 19: For the murder of a 16-year-old burglar, Tony Martin is sentenced to life imprisonment. He shot the burglar, Fred Barras, dead at his farmhouse in Norfolk, England eight months earlier. He also faces a conviction for the attempted murder of Brendon Fearon who was wounded when Martin opened fire.
April 22: Six-year-old Elián González is seized by federal agents from his relatives’ home in Miami, Florida, in a pre-dawn raid. He is flown to his Cuban father in Washington D.C., bringing one of the most publicised custody battles in United States history to an end.
April 22: In the United Kingdom, the Big Number Change takes place, addressing different issues with the telephone dialling plan.
April 22: Emmitt Smith, NHL hockey player, marries Patricia Southall, Miss Virginia USA beauty queen.
April 23: American snowboarder who won the Olympic Gold Medal in 2018, Chloe Kim, is born in Torrance, California.
April 29: The 2000 Challenge Cup rugby league tournament ends at Murrayfield Stadium with the Bradford Bulls defeating the Leeds Rhinos 24-18.
April 30: In the presence of 200,000 people and the first Divine Mercy Sunday celebrated worldwide, the canonisation of Faustina Kowalska takes place.
American figure skater Michelle Kwan
Image: Wikimedia Commons
May
May 1: A state of rebellion is declared by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Philippines, at the height of the EDSA III rebellion. Thousands of supporters of her arrested predecessor Joseph Estrada storm towards the presidential palace.
May 1: The film Gladiator starring Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe, and directed by Ridley Scott, premieres in Los Angeles. The film would go on to win an award for Best Picture in 2001.
May 1: Andrea Bocelli, Italian tenor, sings for Pope John Paul II in Rome.
May 1: In baseball, MLB legend Barry Bonds is the first player in the league’s history to hit a homer into San Francisco Bay. Bonds hit the homer when the San Francisco Giants defeated the New York Mets 10-3.
May 1: With a combination of physical properties that has never been seen before in a man-made or natural material, a new class of composite material is fabricated.
May 1: Anti-capitalist protests in London take part in a May Day riot, with protestors daubing the Parliament Square statue of Winston Churchill in graffiti, along with the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
May 2: Symbolically linking the Netherlands and Canada for their assistance in the Second World War, the Man With Two Hats monument is unveiled in Apeldoorn by Her Royal Highness Princess Magriet of the Netherlands, and the other in Ottawa.
May 2: It is announced by President Bill Clinton that the United States military would no longer restrict accurate GPS access.
May 3: With the first cache placed and the coordinates from a GPS posted on Usenet, the sport of geocaching begins.
May 3: Datapoint, the computer pioneer, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in San Antonio, Texas.
May 4: In Banggai, Indonesia, the Central Sulawesi earthquake hits, resulting in the deaths of 46 people and leaving another 264 injured.
May 4: Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London, defeating the Conservative Party candidate Steve Norris and the Labour Party candidate Frank Dobson.
May 5: A rare conjunction of the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon takes place during the new moon.
May 5: Quickly throughout the world, the ILOVEYOU computer virus spreads, originating in the Philippines.
May 11: The population of India reaches 1 billion. The symbolic billionth birth is chosen to be baby girl Aastha born at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi.
May 11: Services on the Croydon Tramlink are introduced, creating the first trams in London since 1952.
May 12: In London, the Tate Modern art museum is opened to the public.
May 13: A fireworks factory explodes in Enschede, Netherlands, resulting in the deaths of 22 people and injuring another 950. The explosion causes around €450 million in damage.
May 13: The 45th Eurovision Song Contest takes place, with the Danish Olsen Brothers winning with Fly on the Wings of Love.
May 13: In Sandusky, Ohio, the Millennium Force opens at Cedar Point amusement park, becoming the world’s fastest and tallest roller coaster.
May 14: Manchester United win their sixth Premiership title.
May 14: At the 46th British Academy Television Awards, The League of Gentlemen wins Best Comedy and The Cops wins Best Drama.
May 14: The Taiwanese film by Edward Yang, Yi Yi, debuts at Cannes.
May 17: In the Philippines, an explosion rocks Glorietta 2, resulting in the injury of 13 people who are mostly teenagers. The local authorities allegedly claim that the homemade bomb was placed in front of a toilet next to a video arcade.
May 17: Alan Chambers and Charlie Paton, Royal Marines, are the first people from Britain to reach the Geographic North Pole without aid.
May 20: The English FA Cup final takes place in Wembley Stadium in London, with Chelsea defeating Aston Villa 1-0. Roberto Di Matteo scores the winning goal 73 minutes into the game. This is the last game at the old stadium before it was rebuilt.
May 21: British stage and screen actor and director, Sir John Gielgud, passes away at the age of 96.
May 23: The Marshall Mathers LP, the third studio album by Eminem, is released and becomes the fastest ever selling studio album. In 2001, the album would win a Grammy award for the Best Rap Album.
May 24: The 8th UEFA Champions League Final takes place, with Valencia being beaten by Real Madrid 3-0 at Saint-Denis.
May 25: After 22 years of occupation following the country’s first invasion in 1978, Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon. The day becomes known as Liberation Day in Lebanon.
May 25: Dancer in the Dark, starring Björk and directed by Lars von Trier wins the Palme d’Or at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival.
May 26: For services to literature, Sci-Fi author Arthur C. Clarke is knighted at a ceremony in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
May 27: Canadian NHL star Maurice “Rocket” Richard passes away from Parkinson’s disease and cancer at the age of 78.
May 30: At the 35th Academy of Country Awards, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Shania Twain all win awards.
June
June 1: The Patent Law Treaty (PLT) is signed.
June 4: At the 54th Tony Awards, Contact wins Best Musical and Copenhagen wins Best Play.
June 4: In Sumatra, the Enggano earthquake shakes the southwestern area of the country, resulting in the deaths of 103 people and the injuring of between 2,174-2,585 others.
June 5: The first short film distributed widely on the Internet, 405 The Movie, is released.
June 5: In Kisangani, a city situated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, armed conflict erupts between Uganda and Rwanda.
June 7: The Prime Minister of the UK, Tony Blair, gives a speech at the Women’s Institute. He is met with a hostile response, and is heckled and slow-hand clapped by angry members.
June 10: At the French Open Women’s Tennis, Spanish player Conchita Martinez is defeated by French player Mary Pierce. The score was 6-2, 7-5 and the game won Pierce her second and final career Grand Slam singles title.
June 10: After being opened by the Queen in January, the Millennium Bridge in London opens to the public. It later has to close after it starts swaying.
June 10: The President of Syria, Hafez al-Assad, passes away from a heart attack at the age of 69.
June 11: At the French Open Men’s Tennis, Swedish player Magnus Norman is defeated by Brazilian player Gustavo Kuerten, winning Kuerten his second French title.
June 12: While robbing Bus #174 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sandro Rosa do Nascimento takes hostages. The standoff, which was highly publicised, becomes a media circus and ends with the death of do Nascimento and one hostage.
June 12: The Euro 2000 football tournament begins, hosted jointly by the Netherlands and Belgium. England defeat Germany, but are eliminated after two defeats in the group stages.
June 13: The Turkish gunman who attempted to kill Pope John Paul II in 1981, Mehmet Ali Agca, is pardoned by Italy.
June 13: For the beginning of the very first inter-Korea summit, Kim Dae Jung, the South Korean President, meets with the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il. The summit takes place in Pyongyang, the Northern capital.
June 13: American actor and producer Samuel L. Jackson is awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
June 14: In baseball, Greg Maddux achieves his 387th putout, breaking the career record of Jack Morris.
June 16: After 22 years, Israel officially complies with UN Security Council Resolution 425, calling on the country to withdraw completely from Lebanon. Except the disputed Sheba Farms, Israel completely withdraws its forces.
June 17: On its national day, a centennial earthquake hits Iceland.
June 18: The 100th US Open Men’s Golf takes place, with Tiger Woods winning his first US Open. He wins by a major championship record-set of 15 strokes, defeating Ernie Els and Miguel Ángel Jiménez.
June 19: In basketball, the NBA Finals take place, with the Indiana Pacers being defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers. The team won 116-111 in Game 6, winning the franchise its first title in 12 years.
June 21: In Scotland, Section 28, which outlaws the promotion of homosexuality in the United Kingdom, is repealed with a 99 to 17 vote. Section 28 would not be repealed in the rest of the UK until 2003.
June 23: MV Treasure, the bulk ore carrier, sinks off the western coast of South Africa. 19,000 penguins are soiled in the process, resulting in the world’s largest bird rescue from an oiling event.
June 23: In Cotonou, Benin, the trade and aid framework, The Cotonou Agreement, is signed.
June 26: As part of the Human Genome Project, a preliminary draft of genomes is finished. President Clinton announces this at the White House.
June 28: Following a Supreme Court order, the Cuban exile, Elián González, returns to Cuba.
June 29: Claiming defamation of character in a $10 million civil suit, Eminem’s mother goes to court. This is after she takes exception to the line from her son’s single, My Name Is, “My mother smokes more dope than I do.”
June 30: During the performance of the rock group Pearl Jam at the Roskilde Festival near Copenhagen, 26 people are injured and 9 others lose their lives on a set.
June 30: For causing the three nail bomb attacks in London the previous year, David Copeland is found guilty. Sentenced to life imprisonment, the trial judge recommends that he should serve a minimum of thirty years before parole is considered. This means he is likely to remain in prison until the year 2029 at least, when he will turn 54 years old.
July
July 1: Connecting Sweden and Denmark, the Oresund Bridge opens to traffic.
July 1: The civil unions law in Vermont goes into effect.
July 2: From the opposition party Partido Acción Nacional, the first President of Mexico is elected as Vicente Fox Quesada. The election comes after over 70 years of continuous rule by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional.
July 2: At the Feyenoord Stadion in Rotterdam, Netherlands, the UEFA European Championship takes place. Giving France a 2-1 win against Italy, David Trezeguet scores in extra time, and France become the first team to win the European Championship and World Cup consecutively.
July 6: For the late Bobby Moore’s memorabilia collection, West Ham United pays a record £1.8 million. The collection includes 79 different items, including his winner’s medal from the 1966 World Cup.
July 6: Stan Kroenke, real estate developer, announces the acquisition of the Denver Nuggets basketball team, Colorado Avalanche ice hockey team and the Pepsi Centre from the Ascent Entertainment Group. The acquisition cost $450m.
July 8: In Wimbledon Women’s Tennis, American tennis player Venus Williams defeats fellow American player Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 7-6 to win the first Grand Slam singles title of her career.
July 8: The fourth book in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is published in the UK by Bloomsbury and in the US by Scholastic.
July 9: In Wimbledon Men’s Tennis, American tennis player Pete Sampras defeats Australian player Patrick Rafter 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 to win his fourth straight Wimbledon singles title. The win also gives his 13th overall Grand Slams title.
July 9: During a World Cup qualifying football game between South Africa and Zimbabwe, police fire tear gas at fans, setting off a stampede which results in the deaths of twelve people in Zimbabwe.
July 10: The world’s second largest aerospace group, EADS, is established by DASA and CASA, along with the merger of Aérospatiale-Matra.
July 10: Around 250 villagers who are scavenging gasoline are killed when a leaking petroleum pipeline explodes in southern Nigeria.
July 10: Parachutes, the debut album by Coldplay, is released. The album would go on to win the Grammy Award for the Best Alternative Album in 2002.
July 14: Later referred to as the Bastille Day event, a powerful solar flare leads to a geomagnetic storm on Earth.
July 14: In the UK, the reality TV show Big Brother airs for the first time.
July 17: In West Sussex, England, a six-year-old girl named Sarah Payne is found dead after disappearing sixteen days earlier in one of the most devastating events that happened in 2000. The News of the World newspaper start a campaign for Sarah’s Law, a child sex offender disclosure scheme, on July 23.
July 20: For fraud, bribery and racketeering, the leaders of Salt Lake city’s bid to win the 2002 Winter Olympics are indicted by a federal grand jury.
July 20: The parliament of Zimbabwe seats opposition members for the first time in 10 years when it opens its new session.
July 20: France is sued in the European Court of Human Rights by terrorist Carlos the Jackal, who claims he had been tortured.
July 20: At the San Diego Convention Center, the 33rd San Diego Comic-Con International opens.
July 20: The Ford Escort car, one of Britain’s most iconic and successful motoring nameplates, finishes production after 32 years.
July 20: Following the shooting of 29-year-old black man Derek Bennett by armed police, riots break out in Brixton, London. As a result, three police officers are injured and 27 people are arrested.
July 23: The 87th Tour de France, with no winner being declared. Lance Armstrong was the original winner of the event, but his title has since been removed after his disqualification by the United States Anti-Doping Agency in 2012 for the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
July 25: Just after taking off from Paris, a Concorde supersonic passenger jet crashes, resulting in the deaths of all 109 people aboard and another 4 people on the ground.
July 28: As part of the Northern Ireland peace process, the last eighty prisoners leave Maze Prison in Northern Ireland.
July 29: Actor and producer Brad Pitt marries actress Jennifer Anniston in a private ceremony in Malibu, California.
American tennis player Lindsay Davenport
Image: Wikimedia Commons
August
August 1: In one of the most important events of 2000, the Jarvik 2000 is first received by a patient, which is the first completely artificial heart that maintains a blood flow as well as generating a pulse.
August 3: During the third cricket Test at Old Trafford against the West Indies, Alex Stewart, the England cricket wicket-keeper, becomes just the fourth batsman to score a century (105) in his 100th Test.
August 3: On the Paulsgrove estate in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, rioting breaks out when over one hundred people surround a block of flats that supposedly house a convicted paedophile. The event is the most recent vigilante violence against suspected sex offenders since the “naming and shaming” anti-paedophile campaign was started by the newspaper News of the World.
August 4: The Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth, celebrates her 100th birthday.
August 5: British actor, Alec Guinness, passes away from liver cancer at the age of 86.
August 7: Jerry West’s retirement is announced by the Los Angeles Lakers. West is a former NBA star player for the Los Angeles Lakers and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations.
August 8: After 136 years on the floor of the ocean, H. L. Hunley, the confederate submarine, is raised to the surface.
August 9: Thabo Mbeki, the president of South Africa, unveils the Women’s Monument. The monument celebrates and remembers the role played by women in the anti-apartheid struggle.
August 12: During a military exercise, the Oscar class submarine K-141 Kursk of the Russian Navy explodes, sinking into the Barents Sea. All 118 men on board lose their lives.
August 12: American actress Loretta Young passes away from ovarian cancer at the age of 87.
August 14: By the synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, Tsar Nicholas II and his family are canonised.
August 16: The American rock band Lifehouse releases their single Hanging By A Moment, which would later become Billboard Song of the Year 2001.
August 18: The US Environmental Protection Agency is found guilty for discrimination against Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo by a federal jury. This was under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and would later inspire the passage of the No FEAR Act, a law that aims to discourage federal managers and supervisors from engaging in unlawful discrimination.
August 23: 143 people are killed when a Gulf Air Airbus A320 crashes near Manama, Bahrain into the Persian Gulf.
August 23: The Berne Convention copyright treaty accepts Nicaragua as a new member. The membership effectively deprecated the Buenos Aires Convention, because from this day onwards, all the members of the convention are also Berne Convention copyright treaty members.
August 23: A Roman Catholic priest named John Anthony Kaiser is killed in Morendat, Kenya.
August 24: At the University of Helsinki, the first Argon compound ever known, Argon fluorohydride, is discovered by Finnish scientists.
August 24: Nintendo reveals their GameCube, a console that would divide opinion.
August 26: The first Tri Nations Rugby Series is clinched by Australia, who achieve a 19-18 win in Durban against South Africa.
August 26: In the UK, Reggie Kray, murderer and gangster is released from prison on grounds of compassion by Jack Straw, the Home Secretary. Kray was in his 32nd year of his life sentence at Broadmoor Hospital, and was released due to having bladder cancer which was expected to end his life in a matter of weeks.
August 27: Three people lose their lives when the Ostankino Tower, which stands 540-metres (1,772 feet) tall in Moscow, catches fire.
August 30: The film Dayerah, directed by Jafar Panahi, wins a Golden Lion at the 57th Venice Film Festival.
Nintendo’s GameCube, which was unveiled this year
Image: Wikimedia Commons
September
September 4: For the first time since 1969, the English cricket team claims its first series over the West Indies, winning by 158 runs in the 5th Test.
September 5: The maiden voyage of the Haverstraw-Ossining Ferry takes place.
September 6: The Millenium Summit is attended by world leaders at the United Nations Headquarters, lasting until September 8.
September 7: Aaliyah wins Best Female Video and Eminem wins Best Male Video at the 17th MTV Video Music Awards.
September 9: At the US Open Women’s Tennis, American player Lindsay Davenport is defeated by fellow American player Venus Williams. The game wins Williams her first US title.
September 10: On Broadway, the musical Cats closes.
September 10: The 52nd Emmy Awards takes place, with The West Wing winning Outstanding Drama Series and Will and Grace winning Outstanding Comedy Series.
September 10: The US Open’s Men’s Tennis concludes with home favourite American player Pete Sampras being defeated by Russian player Marat Safin, winning Safin his first Grand Slam title.
September 10: The British military operation, Operation Barras, takes place. The operation was to free five soldiers who were held captive at the Royal Irish Regiment for over two weeks during the Sierra Leone Civil War, with all men rescued.
September 11: In Melbourne, Australia, activists protest against the meeting of the World Economic Forum.
September 12: In the Netherlands, a law is passed which allows same-sex marriage, divorce and adoption.
September 15: In Sydney, Australia, the 27th Olympic Games open.
September 16: In baseball, and joining first baseman Mark McGwire, outfielder Sammy Sosa is the second player to hit 50 or more home runs three years in a row.
September 16: The date is the very last day Georgiy Gongadze, Ukranian journalist, is seen alive. This day would become the commemoration day of his death.
September 16: The film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, directed by Ang Lee and starring Michelle Yeoh, wins the People’s Choice Award at the 25th Toronto International Film Festival.
September 17: In American football, the number 13 jersey of Dan Marino’s is retired by the Miami Dolphins.
September 19: In baseball, Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. pinch-hits his 400th home run. This makes him the first player in the major league to reach the mark as a pinch-hitter.
September 20: The patent on the RSA cryptograph algorithm comes to an end.
September 20: A Russian-built Mark 22 anti-tank missile attacks the British MI6 Secret Intelligence Service building.
September 25: In basketball, American player Vince Carter jumps above Frédéric Weis, who is 7 foot 2, in the Summer Olympics of 2000. This is known in France as “le dunk de la mort” (the dunk of death).
September 26: In Prague, the anti-globalisation protests, with around 20,000 protestors, turn violent during the World Bank and IMF summits.
September 26: 80 passengers lose their lives when the M/S Express Samina sinks off Paros in the Aegean Sea.
September 27: Managed by Tommy Lasorda, the United States baseball team win an Olympic Gold Medal in Sydney, Australia.
September 28: The 15th Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, passes away at the age of 80 from prostate cancer and Parkinson’s disease.
September 29: In Northern Ireland, the HM Prison Maze is closed.
American rapper Eminem
Image: Wikimedia Commons
October
October 1: At the closing ceremony for the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, the President of the IOC, Juan Antonio Samaranch announces that the games had been the “best Olympic Games ever.” On the same day, the United States wins the most medals, with 97, and the most gold medals, with 40, at the games.
October 5: In Belgrade, mass demonstrations take place, which lead to the resignation of Slobodan Milošević, Serbian strongman. The demonstrations are often referred to as the Bulldozer Revolution.
October 7: The last ever competitive football match takes place at Wembley Stadium, London, with England defeated 1-0 by Germany. The last goal was scored by Dietmar Hammann and the match is Tony Adams’ 60th game at Wembley, in which he holds the record for the most appearances at the stadium.
October 7: Wembley Stadium in London closes after 77 years, being set to reopen in 2003. The stadium will undergo a complete reconstruction that will increase its seating capacity to 90,000 all-seated.
October 8: Michael Schumacher, German Ferrari racing driver, achieves his third and first of 5 straight F1 World Drivers Championships when he wins the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
October 10: Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and the world’s very first female head of state, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, passes away at the age of 84 from a heart attack.
October 11: STS-92, the 100th Space Shuttle mission, is flown.
October 11: In Martin County, Kentucky, 250 million US gallons of coal sludge spill, creating what is considered a bigger environmental disaster than the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
October 12: USS Cole, an American destroyer, is damaged badly in Aden, Yemen by two suicide bombers. The incident results in the deaths of 17 crew members, and the wounding of around 39 people minimum.
October 15: On HBO, Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David debuts.
October 15: At Talladega Superspeedway, Dale Earnhardt Sr wins his 76th and final career NASCAR race. Just four months later, he would be killed in a crash during the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.
October 16: In baseball, the MLB National League Championship takes place, with the St. Louis Cardinals being defeated by the New York Mets 4 games to 1.
October 17: In Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, a train crash occurs, leading to the downfall of Railtrack and the deaths of 4 people.
October 17: In baseball, the MLB American League Championship takes place, with the Seattle Marines being defeated by the New York Yankees 4 games to 2.
October 18: Member of the rock band Rage Against the Machine, Zack de la Rocha, announces he is leaving the band.
October 23: In American football, the “Monday Night Miracle” takes place. The New York Jets manage to pull together after being down 30-7 at the end of the third quarter, achieving an improbable comeback. The team score 4 touchdowns, as well as a field goal, in the fourth quarter, resulting in a 40-37 defeat of the Miami Dolphins in overtime.
October 24: The debut album by Linkin Park, Hybrid Theory, is released and goes on to sell 27 million copies internationally.
October 25: Orrorin tugenensis, one of the earliest species of the human family tree that lives around 6 million years ago, is discovered in the Tugen Hills, Kenya, by a team led by Martin Pickford and Brigette Senut.
October 26: The baseball World Series takes place at Shea Stadium, with the New York Mets defeated by the New York Yankees 4-2 in Game 5, winning the Yankees the “Subway Series.”
October 26: In the province of Balochistan, it’s announced by Pakistani authorities that their police have supposedly found an ancient mummy of a Persian Princess. The Taliban, Iran and Pakistan all claim the mummy, until it’s announced by Pakistan that the mummy is a modern-day fake on April 17, 2001.
October 26: As president of Côte d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo takes over when a popular uprising occurs against president Robert Guéï.
October 30: American composer, actor, comedian and TV host Steve Allen passes away at the age of 78 after suffering a heart attack.
October 31: The very last Multics (Multiplexed Information and Computing Service) machine shuts down.
October 31: 50 people lose their lives in Northern Angola when a chartered Antonov An-26 explodes after take off.
October 31: 79 passengers and 4 crew members are killed when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400, operating as Flight 006, collides in Taipei, Taiwan with construction equipment upon takeoff.
November
November 1: In basketball, Pat Riley is just the second coach in the history of the NBA to accumulate 1,000 regular season victories. This is achieved when Miami Heat win 105-79 against Orlando Magic.
November 2: The first crew reaches the International Space Station.
November 4: 25 years after his death, Haile Selassie, Ethiopian emperor, is laid to rest following a funeral procession through Addis Ababa.
November 7: In one of the most significant events in the year 2000, the controversial US presidential election between Al Gore and George W. Bush is inconclusive, prompting a recount in Florida. The Supreme Court eventually resolves the issue, with the result in Bush’s favour.
November 7: Inside a converted military missile silo in Wamego, Kansas, one of the country’s largest LSD labs is discovered by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
November 7: Hilary Clinton becomes the first US First Lady to win public office and while still holding the position as First Lady when she is elected to the US Senate.
November 7: For her novel The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood wins the Booker Prize.
November 7: The fourth studio album by R. Kelly, TP-2.com, is released.
November 7: It is famously declared by Tim Russert, American television journalist, that the outcome of the 2000 Presidential election will depend on “Florida, Florida, Florida,” during NBC coverage.
November 7: In London, police surveillance manages to catch a criminal gang who raid the Millenium Dome to steal the Millennium Star diamond.
November 11: Near Kaprun, Austria, a funicular railway catches fire in an alpine tunnel, resulting in the deaths of 155 skiers and snowboarders.
November 12: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is recognised by the United States.
November 13: Manuel B. Villar Jr., Philippine House Speaker, passes the articles of impeachment against Philippine President Joseph Estrada.
November 13: The compilation album 1 is released by the Beatles, winning the 2001 Billboard Album of the Year.
November 14: Singer-songwriter Geddy Lee releases My Favourite Headache, his first solo album.
November 15: After taking off from Luana, a chartered Antonov AN-24 crashes, resulting in the deaths of over 40 people.
November 15: In India, the new state of Jharkhand comes into existence.
November 16: President Bill Clinton is the first President to visit Vietnam since the Vietnam War came to an end.
November 17: In one of the worst disasters in Slovenia in the past century, a catastrophic landslide in Log pod Mangartom, Slovenia, results in the deaths of 7 people and causes millions of SIT of damage.
November 17: As President of Peru, Alberto Fujimori is removed from office.
November 25: In Baku, Azerbaijan, an earthquake hits the area.
November 12: In the 12th Rugby League Cup, New Zealand are beaten by Australia 40-12.
November 28: The Cassette Scandal is begun by Ukranian politician Oleksander Moroz when he publicly accuses President Leonid Kuchma of being involved in the murder of the journalist Georgiy Gongadze.
President George W. Bush
Image: Flickr
December
December 3: The Common Worship series of service books are introduced by the Church of England.
December 7: In Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, the Kadisoka temple is discovered.
December 9: In football, Ledley King, defender for Tottenham, scores the fastest goal in English Premier League history. He nets after 9.82 seconds in a 3-3 draw at Bradford City.
December 12: The US Supreme Court announces its decision regarding the US presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, settling the recount dispute in Florida. The Supreme Court concludes in Bush’s favour, handing him the presidency.
December 13: Near Kenedy, Texas, the “Texas 7” escape from the John Connally Unit. The group later go on a crime spree and murder police office Aubrey Hawkins.
December 13: Al Gore, American Vice President, gives his concession speech, officially ending his hopes of becoming the 43rd President of the United States.
December 15: At the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the third and final reactor is shut down, and the station itself is completely shut down.
December 19: In Istanbul, a Nationalist Movement Party office is attacked by the Leninist Guerilla Units wing of the Communist Labour Party of Turkey, injuring three people and killing one.
December 21: American inventor Alfred J. Gross, who invented the walkie-talkie, passes away at the age of 82.
December 22: Madonna weds film director Guy Ritchie at Skibo Castle in Scotland.
December 23: Danish-American comedian and pianist, Victor Borge, passes away at the age of 91.
December 24: In Indonesia, 18 people are killed by the Christmas Eve bombing in several churches.
December 25: 390 people are killed in China when the Luoyang Christmas fire breaks out at a shopping centre.
December 28: Montgomery Ward, the U.S. retail giant, declares it’s going out of business after 128 years.
December 29: Britain experiences Arctic weather conditions, with heavy snow and temperatures as low as -13 degrees plaguing the country. The conditions cause extensive gridlocking on railways and roads.
December 30: The Rizal Day Bombings occur in Metro Manila, Philippines, with a series of bombs exploding in various places within a few hours, injuring about a hundred people and killing 22.
December 31: As planned, the Millennium Dome closes one year after opening.
The Millennium Dome, London
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Major 2000 Political Events
As the world celebrated the start of a new millennium, there would be many memorable political events in the months that followed. From the controversial US election to an anti-globalisation protest, the year 2000 was one of political significance.
Section 28 Repealed in Scotland, June 2000
Section 28 was a law put into place in 1988 that outlawed the promotion of homosexuality in the United Kingdom, banning any teaching that homosexuality is acceptable. LGBT+ members of society took part in mass protests against the law introduced by the Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher. In 2000, the law was outlawed in Scotland with a 99 to 17 vote. It wouldn’t be repealed by the rest of the UK until 2003.
The US Presidential Election, November 2000
This year’s presidential election took place between Republican candidate George W. Bush, Governor of Texas, and Democratic candidate Al Gore. With the results initially stating that Bush had won the presidency, it was discovered that a miscount had occurred in Florida. As such, the next President was not decided at the time and the mystery of who would be the next President remained until a full recount in Florida had taken place.
However, on December 12, the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the Florida recount taking place, which effectively gave the initial winner, George W. Bush, the presidency.
Bill Clinton Visits Vietnam, November 2000
The Vietnam War became one of controversy and expense, igniting at-home protests for peace and strongly dividing American opinion. After the war came to an end and all American troops were removed from the country in 1975, no US President would visit Vietnam until Bill Clinton in November 2000, marking the 20th anniversary of their ties. Throughout his presidency, Clinton aimed to restore relations following the deadly war and begin cooperation between the two countries.