Skiddle's end of year review 2022

Can you believe it? It’s now officially the end of the year. 2022 is done. We don’t know about you, but we’re still trying to process 2019. It’s all been a bit of a double-visioned blur, but a bloody lovely one at that, so we thought you might fancy joining us as we have a recap of 2022's most crucial moments. 

Throughout the year, we’ve had some truly bizarre, hilarious, empowering, gripping, disheartening, inspiring, and straight-up banging moments. Below are some of the moments that we feel best encapsulate 2022 and what we’ve been up to these past 12 months. So grab a bag of popcorn and let's close this chapter by reflecting.  

 

Qatar hosted the 2022 World Cup and Argentina snagged the trophy 

Photo: Leo Messi / Instagram.com 

England did incredibly well in the World Cup this year before being unfortunately knocked out of the competition by France. Morocco became the first-ever African World Cup semi-finalists, too. Finally, Messi helped Argentina secure the spot on the podium. With the World Cup trophy finally added to his cabinet, Messi's said to have secured every trophy he could possibly win. Oh, and his celebratory Instagram post became the most-liked photo on the app, knocking the egg photo off the top spot. 

 

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We waved goodbye to The Queen after 70 years of service

Photo: The Royal Family / Facebook.com 

Earlier in 2022, we celebrated the Platinum Jubilee, and Prince Louis stole the show, pulling faces and covering his ears as aeroplanes flew overhead. So when it was announced that the queen had died, it felt like a fever dream. 

And, in true British fashion, all eyes were on the massive queue to her coffin, with those in it warned they could be stood in the cold for up to 30 hours. Naturally, everyone was raging when Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield jumped straight to the front, while we all praised David Beckham for being patient enough to wait like everyone else. Fair play, Beckham. 

 

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The Lionesses brought it home

Photo: England football team / Facebook.com 

While the lads may have missed the top spot in the World Cup, The Lionesses smashed it at the Euro’s. Dramatically beating Germany 2-1 in nail-biting extra time, The Lionesses brought football home in front of a record-breaking crowd of over 87,000 people for the first time since 1966. They even won every single game they played. Nice one!

 

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We celebrated 50 years of Pride

Photo: Manchester Pride / Facebook.com

2022 brought the 50th anniversary of the UK’s original Pride march. Bigger and better than ever before, thousands lined the streets to express themselves with allies demonstrating their unity and support of the community. As always, you couldn’t look anywhere without seeing a rainbow, be it painted on someone's face, draped over someone's shoulders, or waved proudly in the air. It was celebrated for months, and you probably could've seen the smiles on people's faces from space. 

  

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Eliza Rose was the first female DJ to reach number one in 20 years

If you haven’t heard B.O.T.A at some point this year, you must have been living under a rock because it was (and still is) absolutely everywhere. Eliza Rose, with help enlisted from Interplanetary Criminal, hit the number one spot on the charts, making her the first female DJ to do so in 20 years. What a legend. 

 

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ABBA returned… kind of 

Photo: ABBA / Facebook.com 

“Returning” with their first “live” show in 40 years, ABBA Voyage saw 3D digital avatars “performing” at a huge London venue. The visuals were mad, there was a ten-piece live band, and punters were treated to a 20-song setlist of pure pop bangers. The demand was so high they extended it to November 2023. 

 

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Sunflowers got drenched in soup 

Photo: Just Stop Oil / Facebook.com

Just Stop Oil activists went to the National Gallery in London and chucked a tin of soup at Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”. Thankfully, the painting was protected by a glass cover, but that didn’t stop people from going mad. Just Stop Oil said the cost of living and climate crises are both driven by oil and gas, with many families unable to afford to heat a can of soup this winter. The purpose of the demonstration was to ask, “is art worth more than life, food, and justice?” 

 

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The sound of a slap echoed across the world 

“Keep my wife’s name out ya f*ckin’ mouth!” More than just a slap over a shitty GI Jane joke, the slap (which you can still hear resonating around the globe if you listen closely) sparked a debate about comedy and its potential repercussions. Some backed Will, saying comedians need to be more careful with their jokes, while others essentially called him a crybaby, backing Chris Rock. No matter whose side you’re on, it’s not something any of us will be forgetting any time soon. 

  

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Matt Hancock was ripped to shreds during his stint in the jungle

Photo: I'M A CELEBRITY... GET ME OUT OF HERE! / Facebook.com

Ex-health secretary Matt Hancock was jet off to the Aussi jungle to eat sheep vaginas for our viewing pleasure. As to be expected after the pure chaos of the past few years, thousands were happy to rip into him any chance they got. He was bullied for proclaiming his adoration for Ed Sheeran (the only time bullying’s okay, if you ask us… just kidding), not knowing Blink-182, and wearing spandex hot pants. 

In 2022, I’m A Celeb received the second most complaints for a TV show, prompting 1,890 complaints between the 6th-27th of November. Love Island was the most complained about, if you were wondering. 

 

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We met the CEO of corn 

This truly adorable corn-loving kid gave us some of the best quotes of the year while describing his deep passion for the lumpy, yellow vegetable. Notable quotes include, “ever since I was told that corn is real, it tasted good”, “I can’t imagine a more beautiful thing” and simply, “mmm, cown.” And with the internet being the internet, we obviously got gifted an autotune remix tune that went viral. 

 

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A country legend joined a pop superstar on stage 

Photo: Shania Twain / Instagram.com 

Let's go, girls! Coachella is one of the biggest music events in the world, and this year, there was one particular set that blew everyone’s minds. Harry Styles shared a stage with country royalty Shania Twain during his headline performance, performing Man! I Feel Like a Woman and You’re Still the One together to over 100,000 spectators. As to be expected, people lost it. 

 

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People actually flew across the globe to visit a chippy

Photo: The Binley Mega Chippy Coventry / Twitter.com 

If you know, you know. And if you now have the song stuck in your head, well, if we have to suffer, so do you.  But if you don’t know Binley Mega Chippy shot into fame with possibly the most annoying, catchy jingle that simply repeats the chippy’s name over and over to the tune of For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow. Apparently, the shop served customers who had traveled from North America, Australia, Portugal, and more. Yep, people hopped on 8+ hour flights to try a reportedly subpar chippy in Coventry, of all places. 

 

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Noodle stole our hearts 

Photo: showmenoodz / Instagram.com 

Ah, the humble pug. There’s something so inexplicably soul-nourishing about observing the chunky, squished-nosed little fur ball, even when it’s through our addictive shiny rectangles on the clock app. Noodle’s owner set up a TikTok for the pooch to find out if he was having a Bones or a No Bones day. His owner lifts him up and if the pup decides to stand, it’s a Bones day. On No Bones days, he just flops right back into bed. Noodle brought smiles to the faces of millions before passing away in December. RIP little pup. 

 

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The lettuce won 

Photo: dailystar.co.uk 

Remember Liz Truss? Take your time. She’s pretty easy to forget, seeing as she was PM only for about five minutes. Still can’t remember? She's the one who gave that weird speech about opening pork markets, then she pissed everyone off with a mini-budget, crashed the pound, and left. The Daily Star seemed all too aware of the fragility of her leadership and set up a live stream to see if a 60p head of lettuce could last longer than her in the role of PM. It did. The lettuce won. 

 

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Louis Theroux spat straight fire 

Yep, another autotune remix gone viral. King Louis actually wrote these bars a good few years ago for his Weird Weekends documentary, during which he visits America to meet rappers and see if he has what it takes to be a hip-hop star.  

 

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Tesla man ruined the bird app

Elon Musk bought Twitter and has slowly started destroying it by removing features everyone loves and adding bizarre restrictions. Twitter users have begun leaving the platform. But, on the positive side, Elon’s changes brought us some funny moments. Since one of the changes affected account verification, parody accounts popped up, impersonating huge brands, celebrities, and more. 

 

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Spitgate and all that other Don’t Worry Darling hullabaloo

Chris pine just wondered where his sunglasses were after the applause. And he zoned out (likes he’s been doing all day) and realised it’s in his lap. So I am sorry to say harry styles did not spit on him. pic.twitter.com/7b4GoCvnHJ

— priscilla (@bluerivercali) September 6, 2022

Everyone was talking about Don’t Worry Darling before it was even released, thanks to Harry Styles’ GCSE drama acting and the weird tension in the cast. 

In one video (above), it looks like Harry Styles spits on Chris Pine before sitting down, looking tense, uncomfortable and maybe even a bit angry. Director Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh hated each other, Harry and Olivia were briefly a couple, Harry kissed Nick Kroll, and Harry seemed to have the IQ of a piece of penne when he said he liked working on the movie because "it feels like a movie". It was a shambles.  

 

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We were sucked into yet another social media app 

pic.twitter.com/p6zpiRAO2e

— viral hall of fame 🏆 (@viralHOF) December 20, 2022

BeReal came out of nowhere, put us all in a tight chokehold, and then died. Seriously, we stopped using it months ago. 

 

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We felt dead smart when we got our Wordle right

Photo: Nils Huenerfuerst / Unsplash.com 

Yep, another way we killed time. Only with Wordle, we justified it by calling it a brain game. It was good fun though, until everyone flooded our Twitter timelines with their scores. Now, Wordle is almost as good as dead. It was fun while it lasted, but we prefer Heardle anyway… 

 

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We did quite well in the world’s weirdest music competition 

The UK doesn’t exactly have the best track record at the Eurovision Song Contest. But our Sam Ryder secured second place at this year's competition. It was also announced Liverpool will host next year's comp!

 

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Kanye made headlines for all the wrong reasons  

Photo: Axel Antas-Bergkvist / Unsplash.com

Yeah… we don’t think we need to remind you much about this since it’s been literally everywhere since… well, honestly we can’t remember. It feels like Kanye’s been pissing people off forever. As a result, Adidas cut ties with the rapper. But in positive Kanye news, his three-part documentary Jeen-Yuhs went down a treat and offered some insight into the artist before his rise to fame.  

 

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The new series of Stranger Things and Running Up That Hill 

Photo: Stranger Things / Facebook.com 

Series 4 of Stranger Things finally dropped! Loads of people were thirsting over Eddie Munson, and so many young people were exposed to some of the greatest tunes of yesteryear, including Master Of Puppets by Metallica and Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill. The latter’s Spotify streams increased by 9,900% in the US.  

 

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Hip hop royalty performed at the Super Bowl halftime show

Photo: Super Bowl Halftime Show / Facebook.com

When we say "royalty", we aren't kidding. Snoop, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, and Eminem shared a stage to bring us just under 15 minutes of some of the greatest hip-hop tracks ever penned. 

 

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Heidi Klum won Halloween again 

Photo: Heidi Klum / Instagram.com 

The stuff of nightmares. 

 

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It was Little Simz’s year

Photo: Little Simz / Facebook.com  

Simz bagged the super prestigious Mercury Prize for her album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, she played countless festivals, and dropped NO THANK YOU, one of the hottest albums of the year. Enough said. 

  

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We said goodbye to some music legends 

It’s always hard when a music legend dies, and there were many deaths in the music world this year that really cut deep. Here are just some of the artists we lost in 2022: Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters, Terry Hall of The Specials, Martin Duffy of Primal Scream, Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode, Takeoff from Migos, Coolio, Paul Ryder of Happy Mondays, and Betty Davis. 

 

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It’s been a wild ride. Despite the ups, the downs, and all the other rubbish, we think it was a pretty killer year. We can’t wait to see what chaos, love, tunes, movies, weird moments, apps we’re glued to, sweat, tears, scran, and changes 2023 brings. See you on the other side.

Ready to make 2023 your year? Click or tap here to find the best events near you and secure your tickets to fill your calendar with moments you wish would never end. 

 

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Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.