As the decade draws to a close, look back at just a selection of the landmark moments, news stories and events in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight during the "noughties".
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2000
2001 |
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2002
2003 |
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2004
2005 |
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2006
2007 |
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2008
2009 |
2000
The "millennium bug" did not strike as feared as the new decade dawned - although P&O's latest cruise ship, Aurora, suffered something of a "bug", having to return to Southampton with engine failure shortly after departing on its maiden voyage in May.
Southampton became a shoppers' paradise as the new £295m West Quay shopping centre opened in the city centre. The three-level mall covered 74,500 sq m (800,000 sq ft) and incorporated 100 retailers and catering outlets.
Paulsgrove in Portsmouth made worldwide news when a mob of more than 200 people turned out on to the streets in anti-paedophile demonstrations.
There were also protests about the price of fuel which paralysed the country.
Hampshire's oil refineries and depots were brought to a standstill, and there were queues at petrol pumps in September.
The 10-bedroomed country house of Romsey MP Michael Colvin and his wife Nichola was engulfed in a huge fire, in which the couple died. The house was destroyed.
At the start of a decade defined by the cult of celebrity, Craig David went from DJ-ing at Southampton's Rhino Club to global superstardom.
The RnB singer, who grew up on the city's Hollyrood Estate, had his first number one hits in 2000 - Rewind and Seven Days.
He went on to tour the US and was nominated for six Brit awards in 2001 although, controversially, he failed to win any.
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Craig David's Southampton
Queen Mother on HMS Ark Royal UK Fuel Protests |
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Superliner limps back to port
Paulsgrove: Return to mob rule? MP feared dead in fire |
2001
In February, Ellen MacArthur returned to Southampton after she came second in the Vendée Globe solo round-the-world sailing race in her boat Kingfisher.
The same month, an Isle of Wight farm was at the centre of early investigations into foot-and-mouth disease.
The disease spread across the the country decimating herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. It took its toll not only on farmers but also on the tourist industry, as many rural communities shut down to prevent the spread.
Visitors to farms were disinfected, car parks in the New Forest were closed, as was Marwell Zoo.
Southampton FC moved out of its home of the previous 103 years, the Dell, and into a brand new £32m, 32,000 capacity stadium at St Mary's.
The last competitive goal at the Dell was a spectacular Matt Le Tissier strike to beat Arsenal.
The south felt the shockwaves of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on 11 September 2001. A month later a series of air strikes marked the start of the military campaign in Afghanistan, which has continued throughout the decade.
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Ellen receives heroine's welcome
Foot and mouth outbreak |
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Le Tissier caps Dell farewell
America's day of terror |
2002
The Isle of Wight Festival was revived - nearly 30 years after around 500,000 fans descended on the island for the legendary concerts, this was a more modest one-day event.
It was later taken on by promoters Solo and became a major fixture on the festival circuit, attracting bands like the Rolling Stones, REM, Coldplay and the Police to the island.
Around 700,000 people watched the Tall Ships Parade of Sail in the Solent. The ships were crewed by young people from countries including Russia, Italy, Bulgaria and Belgium with the last leg of the race into Portsmouth.
Earlier in the year the Gunwharf Quays shopping and residential development officially opened, transforming the city's waterfront.
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, died in March at the age of 101. Her last public engagement had been in November 2001 when she re-commissioned the Royal Navy aircraft carrier Ark Royal at a ceremony in Portsmouth.
Lymington mountaineer Peter Legate tragically died while attempting to climb Mount Everest. The 38-year-old was raising money for local charities.
In April, Hampshire and Isle of Wight suffered what was called the most catastrophic communications failure the region had ever seen. With all phone lines out of action - including 999 - police officers were patrolling the streets to respond to emergencies.
There was also massive disruption in Portsmouth when a 500lb (226kg) World War II bomb was discovered, and defused, in the Naval Dockyard.
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Tall Ships leave in style
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Rock Island review
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2003
In March, 17-year-old Hannah Forster was raped and murdered on her way home after a night out in the Portswood area of Southampton.
Maninder Pal Singh Kohli was identified by Hampshire Constabulary as the prime suspect, but it took an extraordinary manhunt and another five years to extradite him from India and bring him to justice.
Fears for missing Hampshire teenager Daniel Nolan were confirmed. Fourteen-year-old Daniel disappeared on 1 January 2002 after a late-night fishing trip with friends in Hamble where he lived.
The first sailors departed for the Gulf from Portsmouth on board the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal in January as the build up to war in Iraq continued. On 20 March the invasion of Iraq began with many service personnel from the south involved in the controversial United States-led mission.
Saints made it to the FA Cup Final in at the Millennium Stadium.
Thousands of fans made the trip to Cardiff but there was to be no repeat of 1976 as Arsenal came away 1-0 winners.
There was better luck for Pompey who were promoted to the Premiership as Championship winners under Harry Redknapp.
Up to 8,000 people from around the south turned up to enjoy the first Mela in Southampton's Hoglands Park.
The event showcased the best in South Asian cultures with Bollywood and Bhangra performances, music and dance and has continued every year since.
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Southampton Mela
Fight goes on for missing son Southampton's route to Cardiff |
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Man found guilty of Hannah murder
Pompey's promotion party |
2004
The Queen was in Southampton at the start of the year to launch the new cruise liner Queen Mary 2.
It was the first time she had named a Cunard ship since the launch in 1967 of the QE2, whose Southampton to New York service was taken over by the 2,620-passenger QM2 in April.
Campaigners won their fight to stop a huge container port being built near a major habitat for wildlife. The Department for Transport blocked plans by Associated British Ports (ABP) for a £600m super-port at Dibden Bay, near the New Forest.
The plans were opposed by a range of environmental and community groups, but Southampton City Council had backed the plan claiming it was vital for the local economy.
The plight of the Hartley family from Romsey sparked an extraordinary community response.
All four of their young sons - Nathan, Daniel, Luke and Joshua - had an extremely rare genetic illness called X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP), which attacks the immune system.
More than 7,500 people subsequently offered to become bone marrow donors - the only way of saving the boys' lives. While there were complications and further health problems, all four went through successful transplants.
There was a golden fortnight for the south at the Athens Olympics - competitors from Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight accounted for almost half of the Team GB medal tally.
September marked the death knell for Portsmouth's Tricorn shopping centre as demolition work began on the much-derided 1960s concrete building.
The year ended in tragedy as a giant tsunami struck countries across South Asia. Holidaymakers from the South were among the hundreds of thousands of victims, and local agencies quickly joined in the relief efforts.
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Queen launches QM2
Thousands pledge to help brothers Olympics 2004 |
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Campaigners win super-port fight
In Pictures: Tricorn Centre Volunteers help tsunami recovery |
2005
After years of wrangling and delays, Portsmouth's Spinnaker Tower finally opened to the public on 18 October 2005. The 170m (557ft) tower was even dogged with problems on the opening day at the city council's project manager was stuck in the external glass lift.
The New Forest became the UK's smallest national park and the first in England to open for 50 years. Conservationists celebrated the protection but there were criticisms of the extra planning restrictions and bureaucracy.
Fox hunting was made illegal - but in hunting heartlands, including the New Forest, the new law was met with stiff opposition.
Commuters from the south were among those caught in the terrorist attacks on the London on 7 July 2005. Much of the south's travel network was placed on high security alert in the aftermath.
A total of 167 ships, tall ships and merchant vessels representing 35 countries gathered in the Solent for the spectacular Review of the Fleet as part of the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.
The Queen led the events celebrating the life of Admiral Horotio Nelson, culminating with a spectacular Son et Lumière which recreated the Battle of Trafalgar in a breath-taking fireworks, light and music show off Southsea.
A modern day nautical heroine, Ellen MacArthur, sailed around the world and into the record books in February.
She completed a single-handed round-the-world 27,000-mile, (43,450km) voyage in a record time of 71 days and under 15 hours, despite nearly colliding with a whale on day 63.
After 27 years in the top flight of English football, Southampton were relegated from the Premier League after losing 2-0 to Manchester United in their final game of the season at St Mary's.
Saints manager Harry Redknapp quit later in the year to return to Pompey, the team he had walked on out the previous year.
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New Forest becomes national park
Trafalgar Day 2005 MacArthur sails into record books |
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Blasts cause south travel chaos
Council boss trapped in Spinnaker Final hunts as ban looms |
2006
Rhys Jones from Cadnam in the New Forest made history when he became the youngest person to climb the highest summits on each of the world's continents.
He reached the summit of Mount Everest on 17 May - his 20th birthday.
The following week Dee Caffari from Gosport became the first woman to sail solo, non stop, 29,000-miles (46,670km) around the world against the prevailing winds and currents.
She was greeted by cheering crowds along with her mother and the Princess Royal when she arrived in Ocean Village, Southampton.
BBC Radio Solent's Daisy Appeal was launched - over 12 months, listeners raised £350,000 to fund a gamma camera at Southampton General Hospital, the refurbishment of the cancer unit at St Mary's Hospital in Newport and a holiday chalet for cancer patients and their families in Weymouth.
Meanwhile Helena Blackman, from Southampton, got down to the final three of the year's hit reality TV show, How do you Solve a Problem like Maria?
Winchester MP Mark Oaten stepped down from his frontbench post over newspaper reports of an affair with a male prostitute.
In August there was major disruption to the south's airports following the foiling of a plot to detonate explosive devices smuggled on board transatlantic aircraft in hand luggage.
A major investigation was launched into the deaths of three men whose yacht disappeared after leaving Bembridge. The bodies of the men were recovered off the Isle of Wight after their vessel Ouzo vanished while on passage to Dartmouth.
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Rhys Jones Everest Adventure
In Pictures: Dee Caffari Airports to remain on high alert Helena Blackman returns home |
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Oaten apologises over sex scandal
Will Ouzo mystery ever be solved? |
2007
Geoff Holt became the first quadriplegic to sail single-handed around Great Britain. He sailed into Hamble after 109 days to a heroes' welcome and was later voted BBC South's Sports Personality of the Year.
AFC Totton made a momentous trip to the new Wembley Stadium in the final of the FA Vase, however the Stags lost out to Truro City.
Football fans across the south and around the country were united in tribute to former Saints and Pompey manager Alan Ball who died suddenly after suffering a heart attack at his home in Warsash.
Scouts from across the world marked 100 years of the youth movement.
Thousands assembled at three special events in Essex, Brownsea Island and the New Forest while scouts around the world renewed their vows at sunrise.
The village of Overton was one of the first in the country to try and phase out the use of plastic bags. Local shop owners started promoting reusable cotton bags or wicker baskets instead of disposable plastic bags.
Stumpy the Duck made the headlines and hit television screens across the globe after his birth at a New Forest farm with two extra legs - an online blog ensured fans were able to follow his every move.
And BBC South headed towards the South Pole as South Today presenter South Today joined the crew of the Portsmouth-based ice-patrol vessel HMS Endurance as she sailed from the Falkland Islands to Antarctica.
The "Red Plum" was supporting the work of the British Antarctic Survey and charting the ocean bottom at one of the most inaccessible places on earth.
The following year, a serious flooding incident in the engine room off the coast of Chile meant the ship had to be transported back to Portsmouth for repairs.
2008
Southampton said an emotional goodbye to QE2 - the liner was retired from service in November and a spectacular fireworks send-off brought thousands of people out on to the shores of Southampton Water for the last sight of the world's most famous ship in her home port.
QE2 FAREWELL
Earlier in the year, Pompey fans turned Wembley blue. Harry Redknapp's team won the FA Cup, beating Cardiff City 1-0 to bring the cup back to the city for the first time since 1939.
Around 100,000 people cheered the team on an open top bus tour through Portsmouth the following day.
Within the year, however, manager Harry Redknapp had left the club for a second time, this time to join Tottenham Hotspur.
At the Beijing games, Ben Ainslie from Lymington was dubbed "king of the waves" after winning his third Olympic gold medal. There was also gold for the Yngling crew of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson as well as Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson in the Star class.
There was a sad loss for the Isle of Wight as Anthony Mingella died suddenly at the age of 54. The Oscar-winning director had never lost touch with the island where he had grown up working in his family's ice-cream business.
He had won an Oscar in 1996 for The English Patient, been nominated for the screenplay of the Talented Mr Ripley and had massive success with his other films including Truly, Madly, Deeply and Cold Mountain - many had been premiered at the Medina Theatre, raising money for local charities.
The Isle of Wight's famed good weather deserted the festival-goers at Bestival as the Robin Hill Country Park became a mud bath after weeks of summer rainfall.
Several stages had to be closed due to terrential rain and the fancy dress theme of "underwater" became a little too true-to-life.
An attempt to save a 26ft (8m) whale that beached on a mudflat ended in failure. The Northern Bottlenose was killed with a lethal injection after it became trapped in Langstone Harbour.
There was a traumatic time for many Hampshire couples as a wedding dress shop in Lyndhurst unexpectedly shut its doors leaving bewildered brides-to-be without dresses to walk down the aisle in.
The "credit crunch" became common parlance - with the crisis in international banking leading to falling house prices and business collapses. Big names like MFI and Woolworths disappeared from the high street while Southampton's Ford factory was among those cutting output and shedding jobs.
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Tributes to Anthony Minghella
Bestival 2008 Big Brother win for Rachel |
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Stranded sick whale put to sleep
Angry brides left without dresses |
2009
In February heavy snow and freezing conditions swept in from the Russian Arctic causing severe travel disruption across much of the south.
Ikea finally opened its doors in Southampton. An exclusive report compiled for BBC Radio Solent had discovered that the new furniture superstore could cost smaller high streets in the area nearly £30m in lost revenue.
As the recession hit the UK, a group of workers at an Isle of Wight wind turbine factory took a stand against plans to close the site and other operations with the loss of 625 jobs. The Vestas workers received world-wide support for their sit-in which lasted 19 days.
Sean Hodgson, now 57, saw his "unsafe" conviction for killing Teresa De Simone, 22, in Southampton 30 years previously, quashed by senior judges. Tests proved DNA from the scene was not his and police reopened the case.
Endal - one of the UK's best loved and talented dogs was put to sleep after suffering a stroke. Owner Allen Parton from Clanfield said he had helped him recover after a head injury from the first Gulf War. Endal had been given the animal version of the Victoria Cross.
Portsmouth's ownership soap-opera continued with Arab businessman Sulaiman Al Fahim buying the club from Alexander Gaydamak in August, but he failed to come up with fresh investment. In October Al Fahim sold his majority shareholding in the club to Saudi tycoon Ali Al Faraj.
Southampton ended the decade in League One after years of financial and management turmoil, culminating with the club being docked 10 points by the Football League after the parent company went into administration.
There was better luck for Ben Southall from Petersfield who landed "the best job in the world" - caretaker of Hamilton Island, exploring the land and waters around Queensland's Great Barrier Reef and earning a salary of £70,000 a year.
The MPs expenses scandal gripped Westminster. Gosport's Conservative MP Sir Peter Viggers announced he would stand down at the next election after Daily Telegraph reports that he claimed £30,000 of gardening expenses - including more than £16,000 for an ornamental duck house.
The last surviving passenger of the Titanic, Millvina Dean, died in May. She was just nine weeks old when her family boarded the liner in Southampton hoping to start a new life in America. Her father was among the 1,517 people who died when Titanic sank.
A team of Hampshire engineers broke the world land speed record for a steam-dpowered car. Inspiration recorded an average speed of 139.843mph (225.06km/h) at Edwards air base, in the Mojave Desert in the US, smashing the 1906 record.
The 25-foot-long, three-tonne "kettle" was driven by its main financier Charles Burnett III from Lymington.
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