Celebrity Big Brother 5 was launched on Channel 4, with celebrities such as Jermaine Jackson, Dirk Benedict and Leo Sayer.
National Express coach accident: A National Express coach from London Heathrow Airport to Aberdeen, Scotland crashed on a slip road between the M4 and the M25, killing two people and injuring thirty-six others.
April: It is reported in Forbes magazine, an American publication, that Russia now has 60 billionaires, mostly living in Moscow, which is believed to have more millionaires than any other city in the world. 15 years ago, Russia did not even have any millionaires.[1]
17 December – James (then Viscount Severn, now Earl of Wessex), son of Prince Edward and Sophie (then Earl and Countess of Wessex, now Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh)