It’s hard to believe we saw in the new millennium 25 years ago. The year 2000 brought with it excitement but also trepidation, with fears that the limitations of the clocks inside 20th-century computer processors—known as the millennium bug—would cause computers to malfunction worldwide and potentially affect the safety of everything from power stations to aeroplanes.
This digital end-of-days never materialised. And either way, it didn’t stop people around the UK from getting out and partying to celebrate the dawn of the millennium.
The turning of the year 2000 was such a moment in history that it was celebrated in all time zones across the world—from Australia (the first industrial nation to celebrate the year 2000) to Samoa (the last independent nation to celebrate the new millennium).
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Across the UK, people welcomed the new year with street parties, bonfires, and fireworks displays. In London, the celebrations were centred around Big Ben, and thousands of revellers lined the banks of the River Thames.
Much of the attention was on the Millennium Dome—a huge exhibition centre that cost an eyewatering £789 million to construct and was created as the centrepiece of the capital’s celebrations.
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In Manchester, huge crowds flocked to Castlefield Bowl to celebrate and witness an era-defining fireworks display. However, elsewhere in smaller towns across Greater Manchester, people took to the streets to gather and celebrate in their own unique ways.
To celebrate 25 years since the dawn of the new century, we’ve delved into the archives and put together a gallery of images of people bringing in the New Year in Manchester city centre and Saddleworth.
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Do these images awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.