Scrolling in the Year: 2021 in Review

When I wrote my 2020 year in review blog last year, I ended it on a mixed note and said how “We can only hope the Coronavirus’ grip on the world will lessen”. I ominously mentioned the news of potential “second strains” that could be on the way. The blog positively by saying that the launch of vaccines would give us hope of things returning to normal. Although I only wrote that blog 12 months ago, 2021 has felt like an age.

Much like last year, most of it was spent between periods of lockdowns with short periods of “freedom” in between. Summer months where you can sneak a holiday abroad in or meet friends in pubs give you the impression (even though you should know better by now) that we may just be in the clear this time for good. Then suddenly it’s Christmas again and everyone and their Granny has what’s now the third (could be fourth I’m not sure at this stage) strain of Covid.

The difference with this year and what makes it harder to think about is that now despite over 90% of us being either “jabbed” or “boosted”, case wise at least things appear to be worse than ever and a tough January looms again. The key moments of 2021 all have some element of the pandemic attached to them so it’s been hard to find some highlights or moments to laugh back at. Despite this rather dour intro, we’ll try and keep things as light as we can. Here’s my annual review of some of the biggest moments that were trending on social media this year:

Kelly Harrington & the Olympics:

2021 was the year of events being cancelled, then put back on then altered to be in line with guidelines! One such event was the 2020 (still maintained for branding purposes) Olympics in Tokyo! The games were held behind closed doors with only some events open to Japanese locals. This didn’t hamper the buzz around the games though as there were plenty of memorable moments from the athletes taking part.

There was a shared Gold Medal in the long jump, more of a focus on athlete welfare through participants like Simone Biles and the moment where Ireland’s own Kellie Harrington won gold in the boxing and pulled her silver and bronze medalists up onto the top podium alongside her. Other notable Irish medalists included Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy in the Double Scull Rowing and we had bronze medal success in rowing and boxing too!

Suez Canal:

After E-commerce and online trade exploded in 2020 after the pandemic, it hit a snag (literally) in 2021. This was when a cargo ship got lodged in the Suez Canal that flows through Egypt connecting the Mediterranean with the Arabian Sea. This spawned a million clever memes and it was nice to hear the word crisis being associated with something more comical than usual. The ship sat there for just under a week and news stations were just short of interviewing its hull by the time it had finally been freed.

Similarly, the effect of Brexit (something we thankfully hear a lot less about nowadays) began to cause problems for some Irish consumers with customs charges for online retailers coming into effect earlier in the year. In September the UK began to experience fuel and food shortages which again came with its own set of memes and parodies. These incidents showed us that although everything has gone online since the pandemic, we’re still dependant on real people to deliver us our essentials.

Matt Hancock:

Although it wasn’t a great year for Irish politicians and their handling of the pandemic (I won’t even get into it), it was Matt Hancock’s handling of something else that made global headlines back in June. Hancock, who was the health secretary during the pandemic was taped having an extra marital kiss (and grab) in the government buildings with an aide.

This was at a time when he was publicly pleading with the public to keep their distance from people outside of their household. This story was everywhere and although it was demonstrative of the UK’s governments distain towards their own public, if you didn’t laugh you’d cry and it did give us some great satire like the below:

#FreeBritney:

Many of the big social issues of 2020 carried into 2021. One that seemed to really gain attention in 2021 and was stranger than most was the #FreeBritney movement. Like all good modern movements, it was accompanied by a harrowing documentary that found its way to most streaming platforms. The story covered how Britney has been under a conservatorship meaning she had limited controls over her own life or finances.

The documentary combined with her unusual Instagram posts fuelled further conspiracy theories about the singer’s relationships with her family and her overall health. Unlike many of the recent hashtag movements, this one did have an impact and was lauded for “carrying home” the termination of her conservatorship order.

The Euros:

Much like the Olympics, the 2020 (that branding again) Euros (European Championships) were a welcome relief from the other goings on of 2021. To complicate the logistics of putting such an event on in 2021 further, the tournament was hosted by multiple cities across Europe. Stadiums had crowds of 10,000 or in some cases more and with travel rules constantly changing, this meant at times games were hosted where fans of one or either team could not attend.

In a wise move, the Irish government cancelled the games to be hosted in the Aviva in June as they could not commit to the required between 20-40% capacity in stadiums due to rising cases at the time. This meant that Euro 2020 will go down as not only another competition that we failed to qualify for, but one that we also failed to host a game for. Despite this, the tournament was a great watch. with some dramatic games and great goals throughout. It also featured a tiny car that would deliver the match balls to the referee for each game

England managed to make it all the way to the final and were increasing favourites to win it as the competition rolled on. I’m half ashamed to admit that my Dad and I hugged as England lost to Italy on penalties as their own fans destroyed the stadium and its surroundings. In a tough year overall, you have to be able to take the small victories.

So I’ll end this 2021 review on that high note! Again this year I’m hoping that by the end of 2022, we are in a place where we’ll all have more to talk about both online and at our dinner tables than case numbers and more restrictions. People wishing each other a “happy and healthy new year” has never resonated so much.