BY JORDI BOU
2024: A year of global transformation and triumphs – from lunar exploration to democratic crossroads, sports spectacles, and the resilient rise of Notre-Dame Cathedral from the ashes.
Selected events scheduled in 2024 include elections in the US, Taiwan, India, Mexico, South Africa, Indonesia, and the European Union. Donald Trump stands trial one day before “Super Tuesday”, NASA launches the first crew mission back to the moon, and Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris reopens five years after the devastating fire. Sporting highlights include the Paris Olympics, the UEFA Euro 2024, and the Copa América in the US
JANUARY
1. Presidential elections take place in Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.
2. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and possibly Argentina, join the BRICS group of emerging economies, which becomes BRICS+.
3. The world’s largest cruise ship, The Icon of the Seas, makes its inaugural voyage.
FEBRUARY
4. China marks the Year of the Dragon. People born in Dragon years are said to be creative, curious and determined.
5. Indonesia, the world’s third-largest democracy, holds presidential elections.
6. Japan could become only the fifth nation to land on the moon if its Moon Sniper lander touches down successfully.
MARCH
7. Donald Trump stands trial for trying to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat, one day before “Super Tuesday”.
8. Vladimir Putin’s run in Russia’s presidential election could ensure he stays in power until 2030.
9. Dune: Part Two, the sequel to the 2021 movie adaptation of the sci-fi classic, is released.
APRIL
10. A total solar eclipse, dubbed the Great North American Eclipse, will be visible from Mexico to Newfoundland
11. Venice imposes a €5 entry fee on daytrippers during peak tourist season, as the city seeks to combat overtourism.
12. The Rolling Stones go back on the road in North America, with two of the core trio already past their 80th birthdays.
MAY
13. Narendra Modi eyes a third term as Prime Minister in India’s national elections.
14. South Africa is expected to hold national elections.
15. Sweden hosts the Eurovision Song Contest for the seventh time.
JUNE
16. Citizens across 27 EU member states elect representatives to the newly expanded 720-seat European Parliament.
17. Former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum and senator Xóchitl Gálvez are vying to become Mexico’s first female president.
18. Football takes centre stage at Euro 2024 in Germany and the Copa América in the US
JULY
19. Paris hosts the Olympic Games, 100 years after they were last held in the city.
20. US Republicans select their presidential candidate at the party’s national convention in Milwaukee.
21. NATO leaders meet in Washington for their annual summit as the expanded alliance marks its 75th anniversary.
AUGUST
22. Democrats formally nominate their presidential candidate at their National Convention in Chicago.
23. The annual Perseids meteor shower reaches its peak, with 60 or more meteors visible per hour.
24. The new city of Nusantara is formally inaugurated as the capital of Indonesia, replacing Jakarta.
SEPTEMBER
25. A blockbuster Van Gogh exhibition opens in London as part of the National Gallery’s bicentenary celebrations.
26. Germany holds elections in the eastern states of Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia, with the far-right AfD expected to do well.
27. Japan’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission blasts off to collect samples of the Martian moon Phobos and return them to Earth.
OCTOBER
28. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg steps down after a decade at the helm.
29. NASA is set to launch Europa Clipper, a probe to study the habitability of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa.
30. The final race of the 37th America’s Cup, the oldest competition in international sport, takes place in Barcelona.
NOVEMBER
31. Americans go to the polls to elect their president and determine who controls Congress.
32. The COP29 climate conference is scheduled to be held in Eastern Europe, but Russia opposes any EU location.
33. Four astronauts will loop around the moon on Artemis II, NASA’s first crewed mission back to the moon in over 50 years.
DECEMBER
34. Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral reopens its doors, five years after the devastating fire that destroyed the roof and iconic spire.
35. The new Navi Mumbai International Airport, designed in the shape of a lotus, the national flower, opens in India’s biggest city.
36. Robert Eggers’ remake of Nosferatu, the classic vampire made famous in FW Murnau’s 1922 film, is released.
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