21 completely brilliant things that happened in 2021 that you may already have forgotten

Whilst New Year's Eve celebrations were cancelled last year, 2021 really started with a bang this year (literally) with the surprise firework display over the Thames. Things weren't looking too hopeful for 2021 when it was announced the annual fireworks display in London wasn't going ahead. By New Year's itself, with harsh COVID restrictions in place New Year's Eve celebrations felt all but gone. It was a welcome surprise, therefore, to see that the fireworks were going ahead. Not only that, but the fact this display was one of the best yet, with drones and lasers used, and tributes payed to the EU and the NHS - a truly great start to the year you may have since forgotten.

One of the highlights of the year was definitely England making it to the Euro 2021 finals, a historic achievement for the team as it was the first time they had reached a major international tournament final since the 1966 World Cup. The celebrations to them reaching the final were extreme with people taking to the streets. The achievement was sadly in part overshadowed by the racist abuse targeted towards Saka, Sancho and Rashford, following England's loss to Italy. Despite this, the solidarity that followed was really beautiful, such as the notes left on the Marcus Rashford mural in Manchester, and the response Rashford wrote was incredibly moving. This sporting achievement and the subsequent racist abuse and solidarity that followed should not be forgotten.

One thing many missed over lockdown was being able to experience music in a live setting, around friends and complete strangers. That energy just can't be replicated at home. So when it was announced that all restrictions were being lifted and gigs and festivals could potentially happen once again, many thought it was too good to be true. Whilst some festivals didn't go ahead, many did - the return of live music was one of the best things that happened this year.

2021 has been an amazing year for RuPaul's Drag Race. With two series of UK drag race this year alone, it can be quite hard to keep up with it all. Despite this, the second series of UK Drag Race was really something special. From Tayce's dramatic commentaries on every episode, to the chart topping hit UK Hun? performed by the incredible United Kingdolls (and the other version we don't talk about...). Not to mention Lawrence Chaney's well deserved win - with the third series currently on TV, we can understand how you might have forgotten this series... but really that's no excuse.

One of the viral highlights of the year was definitely the recording of the Zoom meeting of the Handford parish council. Whilst most of us are used to Zoom meetings by now and surely the last thing we'd want to do would be to watch more, this video provided some much needed entertainment in the depths of lockdown. It also made a star out of Jackie Weaver (be honest, can you remember anyone else's name), and popularised the phrase "you have no authority here Jackie Weaver". This once viral video now feels somewhat forgotten. It may be that as many of us have returned to working in person and Zoom is less of a part of our lives, we don't really want to revisit it, and that's definitely understandable. The Handforth parish council meeting feels like a relic of a bygone time, and revisiting it inevitably brings us back to memories of lockdown. Despite this, it is definitely a viral highlight of this year and should not be completely forgotten.

One thing that might've passed you by recently was the news that ABBA have released their first album since they broke up 40 years ago. Not only that, but its actually pretty good. ABBA's sound really is timeless and this album has only proved this further. Give it a listen to help you boogie through to 2022.

At the beginning of this year, history was made when Kamala Harris became the first female, Black and South-Asian vice president (a lot of firsts!). This was truly a historic moment and an optimistic start to the year that should not be forgotten.

On the topic of Joe Biden's presidential inauguration, the real star of the show was definitely poet Amanda Gorman and her recital of her powerful poem "The Hill We Climb". She was only twenty two years old when she recited the poem, making her the youngest inaugural poet ever. This was a powerful poem, and gave us all hope for the year ahead and years to come. This has really been Amanda Gorman's year, with a modelling contract and book deals following this incredible recital.

Rumours have been floating around about Tom Holland and Zendaya ever since he was cast as Spiderman and she was cast as MJ. Until recently these rumours were just that - rumours. However, 2021 was the year these rumours were all but confirmed. In September Tom Holland confirmed our suspicions with a lovely birthday post for Zendaya in which he referred to her as "my MJ" (awwww). The post got over 19 million likes and was hands down one of the biggest celebrity announcements this year. They seem like the perfect couple and we can't wait to see how their relationship develops in 2022.

In light of the Meghan Markle interview with Oprah Winfrey, Piers Morgan got into a clash with weatherman Alex Beresford over the comments he made about Meghan. In response to this Piers stormed off the set of the show. Due to this and the comments he made, [ITV received a slew of complaints](http://Piers Morgan speaks out after breaking record for Ofcom complaints) which resulted in Piers stepping away from the show after six years... about time.This was definitely worth highlighting as we go into 2022. Good Morning Britain has since replaced Piers with Richard Madeley.

2021 got off to a great start for queen Bey, who became the most awarded female artist in Grammy history and the most awarded singer male or female, a monumental achievement. She won three awards on the night: Best Music Video for 'Brown Skin Girl', Best R&B Performance for 'Black Parade', and Best Rap performance for her feature on Megan Thee Stallion's hit song "Savage (Remix)". Further proof that Beyoncé is and forever will be the queen.

Here's something else that happened in 2021 you may have forgotten: the Friends reunion. This really came out of the blue and was something we never thought would happen. What a year for reunions: Friends and ABBA. Both of these reunions seemed impossible a few years ago, but both kind of came and went.Nonetheless, the reunion made for some great telly. Taking place on the iconic set, with call backs to the series and celebrity guests galore, the special delivered on the fan service promised. Whilst we would've loved to see how the character's lives had progressed since the iconic finale, it was great to see that the chemistry between the stars is still there, after all those years.

2021 marked the year the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) came to TV, with a slew of quality series, including Loki and the Falcon and the Winter Soldier. With these series Marvel successfully brought characters we knew from the big screen to the small screen. Our personal favourite series was WandaVision. It was such a great original series for Marvel and was a real standout from the year as a whole. Definitely worth checking out if you're a Marvel fan or even just a fan of sitcoms.

2021 marks the year Lil Nas Xpole-danced to hell and gave the devil a lap dance: what a sentence. In the music video to the song Montero (Call Me By Your Name), Lil Nas X addresses many of the homophobic comments that have been directed to him and other gay men, such as "go to hell" and the idea that being gay is inherently sinful. Whilst the song and music video gained a lot of praise, it also generated a lot of controversy in regards to Lil Nas' depictions of hell and the devil. The video was a landmark moment in LGBTQ+ representation in popular music and undeniably one of the biggest pop culture moments of the year. Not to mention it resulted in some truly great TikTok's where people joined Lil Nas in hell after seeing him pole dance down there.

2021 was a big year for diver Tom Daley. At the Tokyo Olympic Games he became the first Team GB diver to win four Olympic medals. Most importantly he won his first Olympic gold medal, diving alongside Matty Lee to win the 10m synchronised diving.Whilst Daley has been one of the biggest names in British sport since his debut at the 2008 Beijing games at the age of 14, Daley hadn't won a gold medal until this year. This was definitely a highlight from an amazing Olympic Games in which Team GB matched their London 2012 total, winning 65 medals.

One thing missed from 2020 and the first half of 2021 was theatre. The experience just can't be replicated at home, with recordings of plays losing that intimacy and magic that comes from seeing a live performance. A highlight of 2021 for many was seeing theatres reopen, many for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. For some, going to the theatre might be a treat, and not even something you've thought to do since restrictions were lifted - but trust us, it's definitely worth a trip. Whether you go to see a West End show or a panto at your local theatre, once you're in the theatre you'll realise just how much you've missed it.

Chloe Zhao made history earlier this year when she became the first woman of colour and the second women ever to win an Oscar for best director. She won the Oscar for her film Nomadland, which also won her a best picture Oscar. This amazing achievement may have been a bit overshadowed by other events in the year, but definitely deserves to be remembered as we approach 2022 and another Oscar season. She has since gone on to direct the latest MCU film The Eternals - it has definitely been a big year for Chloe Zhao.

One thing that happened in 2021 that you may have forgotten about (especially as it happened on the 1st of January) was the abolition of the Tampon Tax in the UK. This 5% rate of VAT treated sanitary products as non-essential, leading it to be labelled a sexist tax by some. Whilst this took way too long to happen in the first place and followed years of campaigning, it is definitely something positive that happened this year.

Earlier this year cyclist Dame Sarah Storey became the most successful British Paralympian of all time. She has won 28 medals at eight games, taking home three gold medals at Tokyo 2020 alone. This is made even more impressive by the fact that Storey started her sporting career as a swimmer and competed in four Paralympic games, where she won five gold, eight silver and three bronze medals. Her achievement was one of the biggest in sport this year, and should definitely be highlighted as we go into 2022.

Secondary school students have had a really tough time of it the last two years, especially those that sat their GCSE or A-level exams during this period. It was great news, therefore, to hear that this year a record number of A-level students achieved top grades, with 44.8% getting A* or A grades - a truly great piece of news from this year.

One of the best trends on TikTok this year was the obsession with Little Moons. The tasty Japanese treat has really taken off in the UK this year thanks to the app. Little Moons combine the traditional Japanese rice cake mochi and ice cream. They have been flying off the shelves at shops throughout the country, many of which have struggled to keep them in stock. If you haven't tried tried them already, you definitely should (if you can find anywhere that has them in stock that is).