Twenty Years Of Micro UK - Part Two
Words by Micro UKMarch 07, 2024
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5 minutes
20 Years of Micro UK – Part two
The biggest and most surprising cultural moments between 2015-2024.
In 2024, Micro Scooters UK celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Twenty years of scooting brilliance – even if we say so ourselves 😉.
In part one of this blog, we walked down memory lane and reminded ourselves of some of the most significant moments from the first decade of Micro UK's existence.
Now it’s time to reacquaint ourselves with the last ten years.
2015
2015 saw the ordination of the UK’s first female bishop, Libby Lane, who was consecrated as the eighth Bishop of Stockport.
Prince George gained a baby sister – Princess Charlotte, third in line to the throne after her father and older brother, was born at St Mary’s Hospital London on 2nd May 2015.
Samantha ‘Sam Cam’ Cameron was pictured riding an Adult Classic Micro Scooter, sparking debate in the media over whether adults riding scooters was acceptable (it most definitely is, by the way!)
But this year's biggest news was Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog’s announcement on social media that they had officially broken up – the world wept!
2016
For the first time, more gigawatts of power were produced worldwide from wind, solar, and other clean energy sources than coal and oil.
Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning monarch in British history at 89, marking a significant milestone and surpassing Queen Victoria’s previous record of 63 years 216 days. The only other monarch to reign longer than Queen Elizabeth II was Louis XIV of France, who reigned from just four years old for 72 years during the 17th Century.
In sport, Mo Farah defended his double Olympic titles from London 2012, winning gold in both 5,000m and 10,000m at the Rio Olympics, completing the double, double.
Tim Peake conducted the first spacewalk by an "official" British astronaut, stepping outside an ISS airlock.
2017
Cressida Dick was appointed Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, becoming the first woman to hold the position in the force's 188-year history.
The Lake District became an officially recognised UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Hadrian's Wall was celebrated 30 years after its recognition as a UNESCO WHS.
The chimes of Big Ben fell silent as a five-year renovation of the building began.
Actor Jodie Whitaker is announced as the 13th Doctor Who, the first woman to take on the role. An estimated 4.6 million viewers watched the trailer, revealing the identity of the next Doctor.
2018
London became the first of the top-tier global fashion weeks to abolish the use of animal fur in its shows.
Jacinda Arden, Prime Minister of New Zealand, was the first elected leader to go on maternity leave.
The world held its breath as 12 boys and their football coaches were finally rescued from a cave in Thailand after being trapped for two weeks. The boys were trapped after the cave system flooded suddenly; the world's media documented the dangerous rescue and miraculously had a happy ending.
Prince Harry married Meghan Markle on 19th May
2019
Days after millions of young people worldwide took to the streets in a youth-led climate strike to protest their governments' lack of climate action, Greta Thunberg delivered her scathing ‘How Dare You!’ speech to world leaders at the UN aged 16.
First all-woman spacewalk - NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir completed the first all-female spacewalk.
England’s cricketers win the Men’s World Cup by beating New Zealand at Lords.
2020
The global pandemic hooked its claws into us all as COVID-19 spread like wildfire.
• The UK went into Lockdown.
• We all Clapped for the AMAZING NHS
• Working from home became the new normal.
And Micro Scooters had one of their biggest years ever!!
Scooter sales went wild as everyone bought them for their outside exercise during Lockdown – the longest 'peak period' in company history!
The Micro Air Hopper was launched.
Chilli Scooters UK launched, bringing their category-leading stunt scooters to the UK market.
We designed our first-ever licensed products – Team GB scooters and accessories. And our second – Gruffalo
2021
It was Handbags [for Life] at dawn when M&S took legal action against Aldi over a cake that resembled their Colin the Caterpillar; the internet went wild with memes after the Aldi social team decided to have fun with it.
17 million watched Oprah’s interview with Meghan and Harry
The Sex and the City ladies returned to our screens 17 years after its finale – sequel, 'And Just Like That', aired in December minus Samantha.
The Ever Given, one of the largest container ships in the world, ran aground in the Suez Canal on 23rd March. It took six days to refloat the ship, and by then, 367 other vessels were waiting to pass through the canal, which served as a vital channel connecting the factories of Asia to Europe. The episode was disastrous for the shipping industry, damming worldwide shipping and freezing nearly $10 billion in trade daily.
2022
Paddington Bear and Queen Elizabeth II have tea together to celebrate Her Majesty’s 70th year on the throne.
2022 saw nearly all COVID-19 restrictions removed, international borders in most countries reopened, and the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines continued.
Sam Ryder, aka possibly the nicest bloke on the planet, amazed the British public by coming second (yes, second!) in the Eurovision Song Contest with ‘Spaceman’ – highest placing since 1998.
Binley Mega Chippy blew up TikTok – thanks to an ear-worm jingle and the magic of social media, the unassuming chippy just outside Coventry went from serving the usual Friday night crowd to being TikTok’s most famous ChipShop with people queuing around the block. The hashtag #BinleyMegaChippy has a whopping 495.2m views.
Micro UK becomes the first and only scooter brand to be B Corp certified.
2023
Disney celebrates its 100th anniversary. It all started with ‘The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio’ in 1923, a partnership between Walt Disney and his brother Roy. The subsequent name change to ‘Walt Disney Studios’ was at Roy’s suggestion. Mickey Mouse didn’t join the fray until 1928.
England's lionesses reached the final of the FIFA World Cup but lost to Spain.
English goalie Mary Earps wins the Golden Glove award at the World Cup and Sports Personality of the Year.
Coronation of King Charles III – Charles and Camilla were crowned King and Queen Consort on 6th May at Westminster Abbey.
New iterations of the iconic Mini Micro were launched – the Mini Flux and the Mini Glitter.
2024 - what do we have to look forward to?
An extra day – 2024 is a leap year!
THE NATIONAL GALLERY TURNS 200: The capital's most famous art gallery opened in 1824, and its masterpieces are on tour to mark the occasion.
We'll cheer on Team GB at the Paris Olympics in the summer.
Glow in the dark scooters – meet the Mini Light Up and Glow.
Surf will be up in Edinburgh – yes, you read that right, EDINBURGH! Come September 2024, Europe’s biggest inland surf resort will be opened in Scotland. The Lost Shore Surf Resort will be 250 metres long and offer 20 kinds of waves – yep, 20! – as well as wave rides of up to 22 seconds.
Friendship bracelets at the ready. Taylor Swift brings her Eras tour to the UK in June – the cities she is playing are all expecting a tourism revenue boost, and we can't wait to sing along.
So, 20 years have gone by in a flash. Here’s to the next double decade – and in true Strictly Come Dancing fashion - keeeeep scooting!