‘I love England so much': From TV to pop, film to fashion, the UK is enjoying a cultural resurgence
Produced by the team behind Bridget Jones, Notting Hill and Love Actually, the show was inspired by Dunham's own move to London in 2021.
But the wholehearted embrace of the UK by a quintessential New Yorker – 'I loved Jane Austen, I loved Charlotte Brontë … I was one of those little anglophile kids' – reflects a wider cultural pivot.
Three decades on from Cool Britannia, cultural commentators say we are in the throes of a 'Brit-culture renaissance': British men are once again a romantic ideal, Oasis are back together, 'Britishcore' became a viral social media trend and Jane Austen is getting more reboots than Marvel comic books. 'Cool Britannia is back!' Tatler declared, as it dedicated its new August cover to the offspring of Britpop stars.
'Youth culture today is more visually and sonically proud of its Britishness than it's been in decades,' said Luke Hodson, the founder of Nerds Collective, a youth marketing agency. 'The UK's global output is hitting differently right now.'
This summer, thousands watched Olivia Rodrigo profess her love for all things British during her headline set at Glastonbury. 'I love England so much. I love how nobody judges you for having a pint at noon. I love English sweets, all the sweets from M&S, Colin the Caterpillar specifically,' said the pop star, dressed in union flag shorts. 'I have had three sticky toffee puddings since coming to Glastonbury. And as luck would have it, I love English boys,' she added, referencing her beau Louis Partridge.
Over the past year, Google searches for 'British men' have increased by 21%, while Americans have been writing of their preference for dating Britons. Even though Taylor Swift has traded Hampstead Heath for Americana (and wrote So Long, London to mark the end of years spent in the company of British people), other high-profile transatlantic relationships are spotlighting UK-US links: Tom Holland and Zendaya are regularly spotted in New Malden's Waitrose; Andrew Garfield took Monica Barbaro to Wimbledon.
Are we Britons confirming our own bias? Maybe not. Fresh on the tail of Too Much, Netflix's My Oxford Year is yet another series about an American student falling in love among the city's dreaming spires.
But there may be something more here than just a transatlantic love-in. The UK's resurgent pop culture moment has coincided with a 1990s renaissance that has swept across music, film and fashion.
Call it Cool Britannia 25. Its potency, according to Hodson, lies in its blend of 90s national pride mixed with a celebration of a more inclusive and globally resonant British identity.
'This isn't a repeat of Cool Britannia as we knew it,' Hodson said. 'This is a redefined moment, powered by a more diverse and globally connected Britain. Back then, it was Blur, Oasis, the Spice Girls – iconic, sure, but also largely monocultural. Today's wave feels less like a marketing push and more like an organic reclamation of British identity by the communities who were historically left out of the narrative.'
Hodson referenced Stormzy wearing a union flag bulletproof vest designed by Banksy at Glastonbury in 2019, AJ Tracey wrapped in the union flag for Dork magazine, Central Cee performing in British flag graphics and streetwear brands such as Lostboys and IDA incorporating the flag in their designs.
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'You've got kids in the US dressing like inner-city Londoners, using UK slang, mimicking Skepta. That used to be unimaginable,' he said.
Analysis shows that British slang words such as 'bonkers' and 'cheeky' are increasingly being adopted in the US, thanks to music and gen Z's liking for television shows including Love Island.
This has been expressed by megastars including Drake collaborating with British rappers and Charli xcx storming the world with her album Brat – a quintessentially London aesthetic that evoked turn of the century excess and rave culture.
Are the original Cool Britannia generation happy to see their little bit of history repeating? Not all of them believe it is.
Daniel Rachel, the bestselling author of Don't Look Back in Anger: The Rise & Fall of Cool Britannia, said 90s culture could not be easily separated from the sociopolitical circumstances of the time – including the after-effects of Thatcherism and a renewed national pride with the election of Tony Blair, who 'few people would measure Keir Starmer against'.
'The decade exploded because of the desperation and repression creative people felt and engineered into their work,' Rachel added. 'We may be living through a similar pattern of events, particularly with the troubling rise of rightwing rhetoric across the globe, but if Cool Britannia is to be repeated the seeds will not be found in glossy Netflix-commissioned sitcoms or attention-grabbing social media influencers.
'They will be bubbling in the underfunded, underpaid, backstreets of the UK where our country's greatest artists have always risen from.'
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13 minutes ago
- Times
My audience with Frankel — king of racehorses
For racing fans, the name Frankel is the equivalent of the mythical Pegasus. But the unbeaten superstar of the sport, who was retired from the track in 2012 and is now 17, doesn't reside on Olympus. Instead he can be visited in his stable in Newmarket courtesy of Newmarket Tours. The bad news is that Frankel is only available to the public eight times a year — for a group limited to 24 — and tickets are snapped up faster than an Oasis reunion. For aficionados, this really is the hottest ticket in town. The legend of Frankel is for ever tied with that of his trainer, the late great Sir Henry Cecil. Champion trainer ten times between 1976 and 1993, the charismatic Cecil's career had declined with the combination of a fallout with Sheikh Mohammed, two divorces (he married for a third time in 2008) and then a gradual physical decline caused by stomach cancer. 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2 hours ago
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Sharon Osbourne's hidden tributes to late husband Ozzy at his emotional funeral procession
Sharon Osbourne paid a touching tribute to her late husband Ozzy as she led his emotional funeral procession on Wednesday. The Black Sabbath rocker died aged 76 on July 22 and his funeral cortege travelled through his hometown of Birmingham on Wednesday. His grief-stricken wife Sharon and children Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis led the parade and stopped at Black Sabbath Bridge to an outpouring of love from the crowd. Sharon, 72, paid a subtle tribute to her late husband during the ceremony as she wore Ozzy's ring around her neck. She was seen wearing the recognisable gold ring featuring a row of diamonds around her neck on a chain. The distinctive piece of jewellery is believed to be Ozzy's wedding band, and he has been seen wearing it on his ring finger in recent years. According to reports, Ozzy has been wearing the ring since their 2017 vow renewal - which took place 35 years after they originally tied the knot. During the funeral, Sharon also held her hands up and gave a double peace sign - a gesture which has become synonymous with the metal star. Ozzy previously explained the significance behind the gesture, telling Rolling Stone in 2002: 'We were the last hippie band. We were into peace.' Sharon wasn't the only member of the Osbourne clan to subtly pay tribute to Ozzy as his kids also all wore heartfelt items which directly referenced their beloved father. Ozzy's son Louis - from his first marriage to Thelma Riley - wore a purple tie featuring a skull and crossbones in a nod to his father's own rock n' roll style. Kelly, 40, also remembered her father by wearing his iconic sunglasses, with the Prince of Darkness becoming synonymous with round shades over the years. In another poignant clothing choice, Jack, 39, also wore a small silver cross pin on the end of his tie - a reference to Ozzy's signature pendant. Lastly, Aimee, 41, also pinned a bat brooch to her blazer as she joined her family in paying reference to Ozzy's iconic career. One of Ozzy's most famous moments was when he bit the head off a bat live on stage, with the metal star even performing on a bat throne at his farewell show at Villa Park just weeks before his death. Huge crowds descended on Birmingham on Wednesday to pay tribute to the beloved Prince of Darkness at his funeral procession. The funeral cortege was led by a live brass band, Bostin' Brass, who performed versions of Black Sabbath songs such as Iron Man, as thousands of tearful devotees lined the streets and sang along in Ozzy's memory. The hearse carrying the singer's coffin - adorned with purple flowers spelling out 'Ozzy' - passed the star's childhood home in Lodge Road, Aston, shortly after midday. Flowers had been placed outside the terraced property, close to Villa Park, while the owners of the house put up a picture of Osbourne in the front bay window. Sharon led the procession with her children Jack, Aimee and Kelly and Ozzy's son Louis from his first marriage as they comforted each other amid their devastating grief. Thousands of people were pictured taking their places not only on Black Sabbath Bridge but along the city centre route along which his cortege travelled towards the Black Sabbath Bridge bench. Fans clapped and cheered chanting 'Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy' as the rock legend's hearse passed through the streets of Birmingham as Sharon watched on and brushed away tears. Describing Ozzy as a 'working class hero' who loved his city, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham said: 'I got to know him in the last few weeks when we gave him the freedom of the city and he was just so humble, so down to earth. He was a working class hero. 'I couldn't tell he was a rock star, he was just an ordinary guy, so caring. He had working class roots and his loved his fans, he loved his city, he always promoted Birmingham wherever he went, he was proud to have been born in Aston. 'His slogan was "Birmingham Forever" and that makes me such a proud citizen. It was a last hurrah for him today.' Ozzy and his Black Sabbath bandmates - Terence 'Geezer' Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward - were recently given the freedom of the city of Birmingham, which recognises people's exceptional service to the city. Ozzy is survived by his wife Sharon and his five children Jessica, Louis, Aimee, Kelly and Jack. In a statement shared last Tuesday, Ozzy's family said he died 'surrounded by love', adding: 'It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning.' Ozzy took to the stage for his farewell concert at Villa Park stadium in his native Birmingham less than three weeks before his death - reuniting with his original Black Sabbath bandmates for the first time since 2005. More than 42,000 fans packed into the venue for the Back To The Beginning show, during which he told the crowd in his final speech: 'You've no idea how I feel - thank you from the bottom of my heart.' Fans clapped and cheered chanting 'Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy' as the rock legend's hearse passed through the streets of Birmingham as Sharon watched on and brushed away tears A message on screen then read: 'Thank you for everything, you guys are f***ing amazing. Birmingham Forever,' before the sky lit up with fireworks. He had told of it being his last performance due to his health, having opened up about his battle with Parkinson's in 2020. The musician had undergone seven surgeries in the past five years, including a fourth spinal operation in 2023, and had been battling Parkinson's disease since 2003. Before his final show, Ozzy said he hoped to continue recording music after retiring from live performing, but he heartbreakingly died before he was able to do so. Ozzy's last solo album, 2022's Patient Number 9, featured a long list of guest artists, including hid Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Zakk Wylde, and Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, among others.
