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It’s the start of 2017 and the world is praying the next 12 months will be an improvement on 2016.

We're doing a bit of reminiscing too as we welcome in the the New Year with our glasses of Champers.

And we feel a bit old here, since we realised it's 20 years since Tony Blair was elected. In fact 1997 was a big year for politics, pop culture and sport.

So fasten up. You're about to feel ancient too.

Tony Blair was elected

(Image: PA)

By 1997 people were fed up of the Tories and the New Labour era dawned. Tony Blair , the youngest ever leader of Labour, was elected Prime Minister on May 1, 1997 to sounds of D:Ream’s Things Can Only Get Better. Hmm.

He said the right words, looked the part, and hung out with Noel Gallagher , when people still thought that was cool.

Lembit Opik was too

(Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)

The colourful Lib Dem first became an MP in 1997. But the politician is perhaps better known for his appearances on TV Shows like Have I Got News for You, All Star Mr and Mrs and Loose Women.

A year after he came to office he nearly died in a paragliding accident.

At one point he and weather presenter Sian Lloyd came close to marrying, but they split up in 2006.

Öpik later became involved with then-24-year-old Cheeky Girl Gabriela Irimia.

Dolly the Sheep was introduced

(Image: Daily Record)

On February 22, 1997, we felt like we were living in the future when a sheep named Dolly was cloned from an adult cell.

Dolly was born in July 1996 but her existence was initially kept under wraps. She was was heralded as the scientific breakthrough of the decade by some, while others condemned the experiment as unethical.

Dolly went on to breed naturally, but was put to sleep in 2003 after she was found to have progressive lung disease.

Princess Diana died

(Image: Huddersfield Examiner)

Who doesn't remember where they were for this one? It was Sunday, August 31, 1997, when Swansea-born newsreader Martyn Lewis announced Diana, Princess of Wales, had died in a car crash in Paris.

In a world before Twitter and Facebook , we were glued to the rolling news that replaced the usual programming.

The old National Stadium was demolished

(Image: Western Mail Archive)

The stadium remains park of Welsh rugby lore but 1997 was the year work began on what was to become the Millennium Stadium, now regarded as the finest rugby venue in the world

The crowds flocked to see Titanic in the cinema - despite knowing the ending

(Image: Publicity Picture)

Titanic’s lead actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet were just 21 and 22 when they starred as the tragic passengers who found love on the doomed ship.

At the time it was the most expensive film ever produced but it made its money back with huge success at the box office after its November release.

Titanic was epic in every sense - it goes on for three hours and 15 minutes, in case you’ve forgotten - and even though it’s 20 years old, we can still quote it like we watched it yesterday.

Welshies Ioan Gruffudd and Bernard Fox were in it too.

Dalek inventor Terry Nation died

Having first made his name as a comedy writer, Cardiff-born Terry became famous as the man who made up the Daleks. He also created the BBC shows Survivors and Blake's 7.

Who knows what he would have made of the Doctor Who's massive global appeal in 2016?

Nokia dominated the mobile phone market

They weren't quite the size of bricks but we'd yet to reach a state where ignoring your friends over coffee was normal because an electronic sliver buzzed.

In 1997 the Nokia 6110 was the height of sophistication.

You could play Snake and never worried about a cracked screen. Annoying when you ran out of credit mind.

We voted for devolution

Who could have predicted such drama?

The new Labour government had promised referendums on devolution in Scotland and Wales after No votes in 1979.

In the most knife-edged of votes and after 21 local authorities had declared, the result hinged on Carmarthenshire's announcement.

In the end Carmarthenshire said Yes to devolution with a 65.5% majority.

And it meant Wales got an Assembly by just 6,721 votes.

Tiger Woods was the golden boy of golf

(Image: AP)

Before the scandals and drop in form, Tiger could do no wrong. In April 1997, at just 21, he won the 61st Masters Tournament, 12 strokes ahead of Tom Kite. Two months later he was number one in the Official World Golf Rankings - the fastest a player had reached the top.

Oasis released Be Here Now

(Image: Handout)

After Definitely Maybe and What’s the Story (Morning Glory) catapulted Oasis to superstardom, this became the most hyped album of the decade.

On its release on a hot summer’s day in mid-August, it blared out from every car radio, shop and bar for weeks. Reviews were mixed, but the band were bigger than ever and spent the rest of the year touring the world.

Also released were Radiohead’s OK Computer, The Verve’s Urban Hymns and The Prodigy’s The Fat of the Land.

Michael Sheen was in Wilde

(Image: PA)

Twenty years ago the Hollywood big-hitter with one foot still in Wales was barely known. But the Newport-born actor did star opposite Stephen Fry as Robbie Ross, the Canadian journalist best known for his relationship with playwright Oscar Wilde.