The Millennium Dome, Canary Wharf, London

A Brief Introduction To The 1990's

The 1990s was a milestone decade in the advancement of technology in the home and work place with the widespread adoption of personal computers and the Internet. The increased productivity that these tools brought with them lead to increased economic productivity led to the equity market booms around the world, and caused an influx of wealth to the United States, Europe and Asia.

The 90s started with the United States invasion of Iraq, as well as the cementation of free-market capitalism in many economic systems worldwide. During this decade, racial prejudice lost moral acceptance, and the gender roles for women began to increase dramatically in many industrialised countries.

Oil and gas were discovered in many countries in the former Soviet bloc, leading to economic growth and wider adoption of trade between nations. These trends were also fuelled by inexpensive fossil energy, with low petroleum prices caused by a glut of oil. Political stability and decreased militarisation due to the winding down of the Cold War led to economic development and higher standards of living for many citizens.

Youth culture in the 1990s was characterized by environmentalism and entrepreneurship. Fashions were often individualistic; tattoos and body piercing gained popularity, and "retro" styles inspired by fashions of the 1960s and 1970s were also prevalent. Some young people became increasingly involved in outdoor activities that combined embracing athletics with the appreciation of nature.

National Lottery

The UK National lottery started operating in 1994, and while not a direct replacement for the old “pools coupon” form of gambling was quickly adopted as the most popular form of gambling by a hungry nation, all believing that “it could be you”.

The internet began to emerge in the mid 90s, taking hold in a more mainstream way around 1996 as companies like MSN began to provide free trial access to their online services on the covers of popular computer magazines.

Television diversified further with the non terrestrial channels taking more viewers away from the traditional favourites. Satellite broadcaster BSkyB obtained the rights to the English FA Premier League in 1992, producing high revenues for the league and becoming the bedrock of the subscription television service, holding a monopoly on the rights until 2007.

Prize limits on game shows are lifted in 1993, leading to shows with much bigger prizes, especially the launch of Who Wants to be a Millionaire in 1998, soon launched around the world. Channel 4's TFI Friday becomes the first programme to give away a million pounds to a contestant at the end of 1999.

Politically, the 1990s was an era of spreading democracy. The former countries of the Warsaw Pact moved from totalitarian regimes to democratically-elected governments. The same happened in other non-communist countries, such as Taiwan, Chile, South Africa, and Indonesia. Capitalism made great changes to the economies of communist countries like China and Vietnam, and even Cuba.

The improvement in relations between the countries of NATO and the former members of the Warsaw Pact ended the Cold War both in Europe and other parts of the world. In 1993, the Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, and PLO leader Yasser Arafat shook hands in agreement for peace, at the conclusion of peace talks sponsored by US president Bill Clinton. The outcome of these talks, known as the Oslo Accords, was an agreement by Israel to allow Palestinian self-government.

Conflicts like the Balkan Wars, the Rwandan genocide, the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia and the first Gulf War, as well as the continuation of terrorism, led some to hypothesize a Clash of Civilizations, but the decade was also a time of peace in terror-ridden Northern Ireland when the IRA agreed to a truce in 1994. This marked the beginning of the end of 25 years of violence between the two sectarian groups, Protestant and Catholic, and the start of political negotiations.