It Had to Be You
Begins the Great American Songbook series with It Had to Be You.
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
2002 in Great Britain — Page 2
Explore 145 historical events and records for Great Britain in 2002.
Historical records for Great Britain in 2002
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 40 of 145 unique records.
145Unique records
2 of 4Page
34Named events on this page
33Named people on this page
8Places on this page
October
Constitution of Great Britain
Northern Ireland returns to direct rule from London after the suspension of the local assembly following allegations of Irish Republican Army spying
Reform of Government
Network Rail, a non profit company, replaces Railtrack
Rule of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland returns to direct rule from London after the suspension of the local assembly following allegations of Irish Republican Army spying
November
Escapology
Releases Escapology, including Feel and Come Undone.
December
Tax Law Rewrite Bills Committee
Joins the Joint Committee on Tax Law Rewrite Bills, contributing to parliamentary scrutiny of legislation intended to simplify tax law.
Scandal
Peter Foster, a convicted fraudster, helps the Blairs buy a flat ib Bristol
Other events (month unknown)
Academy Award Nomination for Memento
Receives an Academy Award nomination for the screenplay of Memento.
Adoption and Children Act
Adoption and Children Act 2002 reforms adoption law and child welfare provisions
Anniversary
Celebrates 50 yrs as Queen
Appointment as Queen's Counsel
Starmer is appointed Queen's Counsel after his work in human-rights and public law.
BAFTA
Recieves a Fellowship of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), the highest award given by the Academy
BBC Young Sports Personality Award
Rooney is named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year after breaking into Everton's first team and scoring spectacular Premier League goals.
Bend It Like Beckham
Stars in Bend It Like Beckham
Black Ring
With Roberto Emparan, discovers the five-dimensional rotating black ring solution, demonstrating that higher-dimensional black holes need not have spherical horizons.
Brentford Playoff Final Attack
Owusu spearheaded Brentford's attack in the Second Division playoff final against Stoke City at the Millennium Stadium.
British Comedy Award
Winner of the British Comedy Award for "Lifetime Achievement"
Budget
James Gordon Brown presents the 2002 Budget to the House of Commons as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Budget Policy
The 2002 Budget under James Gordon Brown sets out the Government's taxation, expenditure and borrowing plans.
Buzzcocks
Shelley and Devoto teamed up for the first time since 1976, producing the album Buzzkunst, a play on the German word for "Art"
Buzzcocks
Shelley and Devoto teamed up for the first time since 1976, producing the album Buzzkunst, a play on the German word for "Art"
Carbon
Mick Jones teams up with his former London SS colleague, Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik member, Tony James to form a new band named Carbon
Carbon
Mick Jones teams up with his former London SS colleague, Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik member, Tony James to form a new band named Carbon
Cardiff Playoff Final Goalkeeping
Robert Green kept goal for Norwich City in the 2002 First Division play-off final, which ended in a penalty-shootout defeat to Birmingham City.
Champions League Goal Against Deportivo
Beckham found the net against Deportivo La Coruña in the Champions League before suffering the metatarsal injury in the same tie. The match illustrated both his attacking contribution and the fragility of England's World Cup preparations.
Champions League Goal Against Galatasaray
Gerrard helps Liverpool through a difficult Champions League group stage as the team tests itself against leading continental opposition.
Charlton Attacking Goals
Euell becomes a dependable source of Premier League goals for Charlton Athletic through his movement and finishing.
CMB and Galaxy Evidence for Dark Energy
Efstathiou combines microwave-background and galaxy-survey information to constrain cosmological parameters and strengthen the case for a substantial dark-energy component.
Comedy
Channel 4 broadcast a documentary film on the off-screen life of Brambell and his relationship with Harry H. Corbett, who played Harold Steptoe in Steptoe and Son, "When Steptoe met son", revealed that the two men detested each other
David Moyes Appointed Manager
David Moyes takes charge of Everton after leaving Preston North End and begins an eleven-year tenure managing the Merseyside club.
Death of Joe Strummer
Death of Joe Strummer, from a congenital heart defect at the age of 50
Deep Purple
Joins Deep Purple as keyboard player, replacing Jon Lord after earlier work as a touring substitute.
Deep Purple
Leaves Deep Purple after more than three decades as the band's defining keyboard player.
England Knockout Victory Against Denmark
Beckham captained England to a 3–0 win over Denmark in the 2002 World Cup round of sixteen. The victory carried England into a quarter-final against Brazil after a confident team display.
England World Cup Quarter-Final Run
Beckham captained England during the World Cup jointly hosted by Japan and South Korea. The team reached the quarter-finals before losing 2–1 to eventual winners Brazil.
English Football Hall of Fame
Clough is made an Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his impact as manager
English Football Hall of Fame
Greaves is made an Inaugural Inductee to the English Football Hall of Fame
English Football Hall of Fame
Made an Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 in recognition of his impact on the English game as both a player and manager
English Football Hall of Fame
Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame
English Football Hall of Fame Entry
Greaves received recognition as an inaugural English Football Hall of Fame inductee for his exceptional scoring career.
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.