As we prepare to enter a new decade in 2010, Suit Yourself looks back and asks - What will be remembered about the decade that was the Noughties?

Where to start, where to start…well, right back at the beginning seems as good a place as any; one minute past midnight to be exact, on the first day of our new millennium when the greatly feared Millennium Bug spectacularly failed to rear its ugly head. Never has such a hyped and anticipated issue been such a non-event. The Millennium Bug: memorable simply for its non-existence; an excellent way to kick off the decade!

Fast forward one year, nine months and eleven days and as a stark opposite we had one of the most significant events of the past century, let alone decade, that seemingly came out of nowhere: The September 11th terrorists attacks that resonated around the world with unprecedented impact. It became one of the most definitive moments of the Noughties for all the wrong reasons, leading the way for an even worse turn of events like The War Against Terror (or TWAT for short), and the whole messy Saddam Hussein/Middle-East oil mess that has evolved into war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Speaking of disasters, Mother Nature clearly was none too happy with the new millennium as she set out to do her worst with the Boxing Day tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004, Hurricane Katrina which nearly wiped New Orleans off the map in August 2005, and countless other natural disasters including floods, forest fires and droughts, not to mention diseases like Swine Flu and ‘Foot and Mouth’ which nearly brought the Western world to a standstill.

With the rise of celebrity culture in the 1990s, the turn of the century well and truly catapulted us head-first into the madness that is Reality TV, led by Big Brother. An entertainment genre which began as an enthralling social experiment, unifying a nation in its hatred of Nasty Nick, has now morphed into a glorified freak show and has spawned hundreds of hideous offspring that dominate our cultural outlets night and day and has surely had repercussions across our very society (Governor Schwarzenegger and Boris ‘Have I Got News For You’ Johnson anyone?). If I have to endure one more glorified sob story that’s manipulated purely to propel a talentless nobody into the limelight for their 15 minutes, or watch one more has-been making a tit of themselves on national television, then I’m eloping.

The 20th century will no doubt be remember for its rapid pace of technical advancement and the 21st century shows no signs of slowing down. Launched in 2001, the iPod became one of the most iconic symbols of the Noughties, remarkable not only for its innovative technical ability but its revolutionary click-wheel and hugely influential, smooth, sleek and simple design. Along with the iPod came iTunes, enabling us to download music in a matter of seconds which underlines just how much the internet took hold of the decade and made it its own. Of course the internet was alive and kicking in the 1990s but the 2000s really saw it revolutionise every aspect of our everyday lives, professionally and socially - not least because of the explosion of social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.

Now, being a girl I’m not much of an authority on all things sport, but I do know this; England managed 2 pretty spectacular sporting feats this past decade: Namely winning the Rugby World Cup in 2003 (God Bless Jonny Wilkinson’s left foot – and beautiful blonde hair!) and winning the Ashes, not once, but twice! Let’s see what Fabio Capello’s boys can do in South Africa in 2010 to make us remember the next decade for football!

If the least decade has taught us anything though, it’s to expect the unexpected and rather than remembering it for one significant genre of music, one fashion trend, one technical achievement or one political breakthrough, it should be remembered for its diversity. So farewell Noughties, we’ll remember you fondly even though we’re still not entire sure how to pronounce you! And with that, attentions must turn towards the next 10 years - What could the 2010s be remembered for?

- Maybe the 2012 London Olympics and that “legacy” we’re hearing so much about already? We might even get the 2018 World Cup too!
- Perhaps the real bashing our politicians took recently for the expenses scandal, causing a recession, and the general undermining of professional integrity paraded by George Bush could lead to a decade of more transparent and honest politics, led by Barack Obama? Or, with the king of slime David Cameron inevitably on his way into Downing Street, maybe not.
- The 2000s saw the climate change debate really come to the forefront of all political and public debate but it might well be the 2010s that will see the real progress made?
- The Noughties saw the first ever ‘Space Tourists’ and could this reinvigorate the world’s appetite for space travel and exploration? Could we see the first man on Mars and settlements on the Moon?
- Or maybe some long awaited technological advancements could be achieved? Time travel? Teleportation? Flying cars? Talking animals?
- And will Michael Jackson be making a comeback?
- World Peace? Nuclear Armageddon?

Maybe none of them? Maybe be all of them? The point is no-one knows! It’s the future. We’re not sure what’s round the corner and that’s what makes it so exciting. I’ll just leave you with the words of Doc. Emmett Brown: “Your future hasn’t been written yet. No-one’s has. Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one.”

Steph Burns
Illustrations by Katy Hudson