Breakdown of 1992 in the biggest political, sports and entertainment news; This is what happened…
The queen had a costly and embarrassing year; announcing early on that he would bow to public pressure and pay income tax (the first time a British monarch had done so in over 50 years) and, by the end of the year, his Christmas speech was leaked and published in ‘ The Sun’ before the big day. It was also a bad year for Manchester after the IRA set off two bombs in the city centre; injuring 64 people and causing millions of pounds of damage.
Politically, the government, led by John Major, made itself unpopular on two fronts, first by signing Britain into the ‘Treaty on European Union’ (this was seen by many as a loss of Britain’s identity); then, second, announce plans to close a third of Britain’s deep coal mines, with the loss of 31,000 jobs.
As for sport, in 1992 Barcelona hosted the Olympic Games; being the first time in 20 years that all countries have been present (with no boycotts or bans on venues). Linford Christie was the star of the event by becoming the oldest 100m Olympic champion (at 32!). The year also saw ‘The Football Association’ launch the new ‘Premier League’, no one at the time realizing what a revolutionary effect it would have on the game.
As for entertainment, the quirky and fast-paced breakfast TV show ‘The Big Breakfast’ debuted. There was a lot of chaos and disorder on the show; Chris Evans is the one running the fun, games and competitions. The BBC was much, much less successful in its attempt to entertain the public with ‘Eldorado’. Focusing on a community of expats living in a Spanish fishing village, it was programmed for its wooden actors and uninspiring stories (it was later removed after just a year).
The big movies of the year were ‘Wayne’s World’ and ‘Reservoir Dogs’. The first is about Wayne and Garth’s fight with a prominent TV producer to save their own low-budget TV show (and win the heart of the lovely Cassandra, too!). The second is Quentin Tarantino’s story of a botched robbery and the hunt for the ‘rat’ (was it Mr. White, Mr. Orange, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Pink, Mr. Brown, or Mr. . Blue?).