The news in 2011 was being recognised as exceptional long before the year began to draw to a close. Our interactive reviews 2011 as a whole but also captures running stories that defined the year from the Arab spring to the UK riots and from phone hacking to eurozone debt. You can click through the pictures below to see how 2011 unfolded day-by-day or choose to see only stories in certain categories. You can also create your own top 10 stories and vote in our poll to see how other users prioritised the news in a momentous year