Week one: 15 April
Also in the top three
Sia – Cheap Thrills (No 2), Mike Posner – I Took a Pill in Ibiza (No 3)
What happened in the world?
Pope Francis visited the Greek island of Lesbos to witness the plight of refugees, and took a dozen of them back to the Vatican with him. In Brazil, legislators voted to impeach President Dilma Rousseff for manipulating government accounts. The Queen turned 90. At least 661 people were killed when an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck Ecuador. Prince died at his Paisley Park complex in Minnesota, aged 57. The campaign on the referendum over British membership of the EU began. Comedian Victoria Wood died, aged 62.
Week two: 22 April
Also in the top three
Sia – Cheap Thrills (No 2), Mike Posner – I Took a Pill in Ibiza (No 3)
What happened in the world?
The inquest into the Hillsborough disaster concluded that the 96 victims had been unlawfully killed, and were blameless themselves. Dozens of patients and doctors were killed in Syria when an air strike hit the Al Quds hospital in Aleppo run by Médecins Sans Frontières. Donald Trump declared himself the “presumptive nominee” to be Republican presidential candidate after winning five primaries. Though Hillary Clinton won four of the five Democratic primaries, her rival Bernie Sanders pledged to stay in the race. At least 30 people were killed in Nigeria when terrorists from Boko Haram attacked Alau village. HBO aired the first episode of Game of Thrones season six.
Week three: 29 April
Also in the top three
Sia – Cheap Thrills (No 2), Mike Posner – I Took a Pill in Ibiza (No 3)
What happened in the world?
Leicester City, 5,000/1 outsiders at the start of the season, won the Premier League when Spurs could only draw 2-2 away at Chelsea. Ted Cruz withdrew from the race for the Republican presidential nomination, as did John Kasich. The UK held local elections, in which Labour’s Sadiq Khan was elected mayor of London, in the face of a Conservative campaign widely attacked for being racist. In Game of Thrones, Jon Snow returned from the dead. At least 38 people were killed in Beni in Democratic Republic of Congo by the ADF group.
Week four: 6 May
Also in the top three
Calvin Harris ft Rihanna – This Is What You Came For (No 2), Sia – Cheap Thrills (No 3)
What happened in the world?
The Brazilian senate voted to impeach President Dima Rousseff, and her presidential powers were suspended. Rodrigo Duterte was elected president of the Philippines; he was accused of using death squads to deal with criminals while mayor of Davao. Islamic State killed at least 110 people in a series of attacks around Baghdad and buried 45 men alive near Nineveh in Syria. Austria’s social democratic chancellor resigned after eight years, following a surge of support for far-right parties in the country’s elections. David Cameron was caught on camera telling the Queen that Afghanistan and Nigeria are “possibly two of the most corrupt countries in the world”.
Week five: 13 May
Also in the top three
Calvin Harris ft Rihanna – This Is What You Came For (No 2), Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop the Feeling (No 3)
What happened in the world?
Manchester United’s game against Bournemouth was cancelled after a bomb is found at Old Trafford – it turned out to be a device from a training exercise. Ukraine won the Eurovision song contest, to the dismay of Russia, which claimed the winning song breached Eurovision rules by being political. At least 47 people were killed by a suicide bomber in Yemen. The BBC prompted outrage by announcing plans to drop online recipes, after having been ordered to slim down its website. In EastEnders, Peggy Mitchell – played by Barbara Windsor – killed herself. The BMA and health secretary Jeremy Hunt agreed a new contract for junior doctors, intended to end a series of strikes, but many juniors condemned it as a sellout. Rain and landslides in Sri Lanka killed 37 people. Sixty-six also died when an Egypt Air flight from Paris to Cairo crashed in the Mediterranean. More than 100 people were killed by Islamic State in a series of bombings in Baghdad.
Week six: 20 May
Also in the top three
Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop the Feeling (No 2), Calvin Harris ft Rihanna – This Is What You Came For (No 3)
What happened in the world?
Jose Mourinho was appointed manager of Manchester United. A US drone strike in Pakistan killed Mullah Mansoor, the leader of the Afghan Taliban. Austria elected Alexander Van der Bellen of the Green party as its president, narrowly pipping Norbert Hofer of the Freedom party. Adele signed a £90m contract with Sony. A Pennsylvania court ruled that Bill Cosby must stand trial on sexual assault charges. More than 35 people were killed in Yemen, and 184 killed in two Syrian cities, in a series of bombings by Islamic State. Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu sealed a coalition deal that gave the country its most rightwing government ever. In a series of incidents, 700 people were believed to have died as boats carrying refugees capsized or sank in the Mediterranean.
Week seven: 27 May
Also in the top three
Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop the Feeling (No 2), Calvin Harris ft Rihanna – This Is What You Came For (No 3)
What happened in the world?
The UK statistics watchdog told the Vote Leave campaign its claim that Britain gives £350m a week to the EU was “misleading and undermines trust in official statistics”. The new, Clarksonless iteration of Top Gear began on BBC2, hosted by Chris Evans and Matt Le Blanc. Iraqi forces seized back control of districts in the city of Falluja after an assault on Islamic State. The world’s longest rail tunnel – 57km – opened beneath the Swiss Alps. An attempt to save British Home Stores, which had been in administration, failed; 163 stores will close and 11,000 jobs will be lost. Barcelona star Lionel Messi went on trial for tax fraud.
Week eight: 3 June
Also in the top three
Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop the Feeling (No 2), Calvin Harris ft Rihanna – This Is What You Came For (No 3)
What happened in the world?
Muhammad Ali, hailed as the greatest boxer of all time, and a potent symbol of black identity, died aged 74. Previews for the latest instalment in the Harry Potter saga, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, opened in London. TV host John Oliver bought $15m worth of medical debts and wrote them off, on his show Last Week Tonight With John Oliver. Hillary Clinton reached the number of delegates required to secure the Democratic presidential nomination, but her rival Bernie Sanders refused to pull out of the race. Olympic long jump gold medallist Greg Rutherford announced he would be freezing his sperm, because of fears about the Zika virus at the Rio Olympics this summer. At least 32 people were killed when Boko Haram attacked the city of Bosso in Niger.
Week nine: 10 June
Also in the top three
Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop the Feeling (No 2), Calvin Harris ft Rihanna – This Is What You Came For (No 3)
What happened in the world?
Isis executed 38 people for spying in Raqqa in Syria. Euro 2016 began in Paris, with France playing Romania, but the match was overshadowed by violent clashes in Marseilles involving English and Russian fans. Vast medieval cities hidden beneath the Cambodian forests were revealed by new aerial scanning methods. In Orlando, Florida, 50 people were shot dead when Omar Mateen stormed an LGBT nightclub. It was the biggest mass shooting in US history. George Osborne warned of the need for spending cuts and tax rises in the event of Britain leaving the EU, prompting Tory MPs’ anger at the threat of a “punishment budget”. Prince Williams appeared on the cover of the gay magazine Attitude. Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered outside her West Yorkshire constituency surgery. Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston are pictured together, prompting internet frenzy about their being a couple, “Hiddleswift”.
Week 10: 17 June
Also in the top three
Kungs v Cookin’ on 3 Burners – This Girl (No 2), Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop the Feeling (No 3)
What happened in the world?
Bernie Sanders announced his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination was over. The Eurozone released €7.5bn in the continuing bailout of Greece. British astronaut Tim Peake returned to earth after 186 days in the International Space Station. A British man, Michael Sandford, was arrested in Las Vegas after trying to grab a police officer’s gun at a Donald Trump rally; he said he wanted “to shoot and kill” Trump. Britain went to the polls to vote on EU membership and voted by 52% to 48% for Brexit. In the hours before the new chart was announced at 7pm on Friday 24 June, David Cameron resigned as prime minister. Boris Johnson was named as favourite to succeed him.
Week 11: 24 June
Also in the top three
Kungs v Cookin’ on 3 Burners – This Girl (No 2), Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop the Feeling (No 3)
What happened in the world?
The UK’s credit rating was downgraded by Moody’s after the Brexit vote, and more than $2tn was wiped off the value of worldwide markets. Labour MPs resigned en masse from Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet, leaving the Labour leader unable to fill his front bench. Labour MPs passed a vote of no confidence in Corbyn by 172 to 40. On the other side of the house, Michael Gove launched Boris Johnson’s campaign for the Tory leadership, only to almost immediately announce Johnson was unfit to be prime minister and announce his own candidacy. Theresa May, Andrea Leadsom, Liam Fox and Stephen Crabb also joined the race. The Spanish general election resulted in the most politically fragmented Congress of Deputies in years, with no clear candidate for prime minister. Falluja was fully liberated from Islamic State. Up to 50 people were killed in seven bombings by Islamic State in Al Mukalla, Yemen. 44 people were killed when three suicide bombers attacked Atatürk airport in Istanbul, which authorities blamed on Islamic State. Austria’s constitutional court overturned the country’s presidential election result and ordered the election rerun. Muse, Adele and Coldplay headlined Glastonbury. Game of Thrones concluded with Cersei killing her religious persecutors and Daenerys setting sail for Westeros.
Week 12: 1 July
Also in the top three
Kungs v Cookin’ on 3 Burners – This Girl (No 2), Drake ft Rihanna – Too Good (No 3)
What happened in the world?
Chris Evans resigned as presenter of Top Gear, Nigel Farage resigned as leader of Ukip, and Roy Hodgson resigned as England manager after his team’s ignominious departure from Euro 2016. London’s Metropolitan police announced it had received more than 500 reports of hate crimes in the wake of the Brexit vote. Sir John Chilcot finally issued his long-awaited report into the Iraq war, which concluded that other options could have been pursued before the decision was taken to go to war, that there was not evidence of chemical weapons, and that there was insufficient planning for postwar reconstruction. Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in February 2013. In the US, two black men – Philando Castile in St Paul, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana – were shot dead by police officers in killings that were caught on film. Later in the week, a sniper at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Dallas, Texas, killed five police officers. Wales beat Belgium 3-1 to reach the semi-finals of Euro 2016.
Week 13: 8 July
Also in the top three
Kungs v Cookin’ on 3 Burners – This Girl (No 2), Drake ft Rihanna – Too Good (No 3)
What happened in the world?
Angela Eagle announced she will challenge Jeremy Corbyn, forcing a leadership election in the Labour party, and she is joined on the ballot by Owen Smith. Theresa May was announced as the new UK prime minister after all her rivals withdrew from the Tory leadership race. She proceeded to announce a new rightwing cabinet that included Boris Johnson, best known outside Britain for insulting anyone not British, as foreign secretary. Andy Murray won the men’s singles at Wimbledon, while Serena Williams was crowned women’s champion. Portugal beat France to win Euro 2016. Malcolm Turnbull was declared Australian prime minister for another term, eight days after the country’s election, in which tight calls in marginal seats had left the result uncertain. Bernie Sanders finally, officially, endorsed Hillary Clinton in the race for the US presidency. Eighty-four people were killed when Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a French-Tunisian, drove a truck through Bastille Day crowds on the esplanade in Nice.
Week 14: 15 July
Also in the top three
Chainsmokers ft Daya – Don’t Let Me Down (No 2), Jonas Blue ft JP Cooper – Perfect Strangers (No 3)
What happened in the world?
A faction within the Turkish military launched a coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. More than 300 people were killed, but the coup was defeated. Erdoğan responded by imprisoning thousands of political opponents, and suspending tens of thousands of education workers. In the UK, the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly to renew the Trident nuclear weapons programme; Labour MPs voted variously to renew, against renewing or abstained. At the Republican party convention in Cleveland, Ohio, an attempt to block Donald Trump’s nomination as presidential candidate was itself blocked. Accepting the nomination, Trump delivered a speech in which he pledged that “safety will be restored” in America from 20 January 2017. Angela Eagle withdrew from the Labour leadership race, leaving Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith as the only candidates. The court of arbitration for sport upheld the ban on Russia’s track and field team competing in the Rio Olympics, after evidence was uncovered of systematic doping.
Week 15: 22 July
Also in the top three
Chainsmokers ft Daya – Don’t Let Me Down (No 2), Jonas Blue ft JP Cooper – Perfect Strangers (No 3)
What happened in the world?
In Munich, a 19-year-old man shot and killed nine people and wounded more than 15 before killing himself. Isis claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack in Kabul since 2001, when at least 8o Hazara Shia Muslims taking part in a peaceful demonstration were killed by suicide bombers. The International Olympic Committee decided not to ban all Russian competitors for the Olympics, leaving it up to individual sports’ governing bodies to decide. Hillary Clinton was named as the Democratic presidential nominee at the party’s convention in Philadelphia. Donald Trump suggested Russia should hack her emails, following rumours the nation was behind an earlier leak among the Democratic party leadership.
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