Trump sworn in as president
After surviving two assassination attempts during his successful 2024 campaign, Donald Trump, 78, will become the oldest person to be sworn into the US presidency on January 20.
Trump will also be the first US president to be a convicted felon after he was found guilty in May 2024 of 34 counts related to falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments made to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump will also become only the second US president to serve non-consecutive terms in more than a century.
German elections
Germany will hold a snap federal election on February 23 after the coalition government that united German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SDP), the Green Party and the Free Democrats collapsed at the start of November.
The election “will take place in a particularly challenging global context for Germany”, writes Garret Martin, a senior lecturer of foreign policy and global security at the American University in Washington, DC. In addition to the “ongoing war in Ukraine straining Berlin’s diplomatic and economic position in Europe”, Germany is also dealing with competition from China and the possibility of US President-elect Donald Trump launching a trade war once he returns to the White House, adds Martin. Germany is also facing a second year of recession.
Polls suggest that Scholz will struggle to remain in power, as he lost a confidence vote on December 16 and has low approval ratings. The SDP is also facing significant challenges from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which in September became the first far-right party to win a German state election since the Nazi era, and the centre-right Christian Democratic Union.
80 years since the end of World War II
Countries around the world will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in 1945 throughout the year.
The UK has allocated £10 million in funding for events to mark Victory in Europe (VE) Day and Victory in Japan (VJ) Day. VE Day on May 8 marks the day that the Allies formally accepted Nazi Germany’s surrender while the surrender of Japan on VJ Day is commemorated on August 15.
Japan’s involvement in the war began when it attacked the US port of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 during its attempt to conquer Asia. The country will also commemorate the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, respectively. The US dropped the first-ever atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, killing 140,000 people, while a second atomic attack on Nagasaki killed another 70,000. Along with other commemorative activities, the sister cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will display panels at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum describing the cities’ reconstruction efforts.
The 80th anniversaries are seen as the last significant milestone that will include World War II veterans, most of whom are now in their 90s.
Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin
Held on a biannual basis, the 12th Special Olympics World Winter Games, taking place from March 8 to 15, will mark the first time that Italy has hosted a Special Olympiad. Around 1,500 athletes representing 102 nations will participate in eight events, including alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, snowboarding, snowshoeing and short-track speed skating.
The athletes, children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, represent a broad spectrum from elite competitors to those with limited physical ability.
Events will be taking place in host city Turin, in northern Italy, as well as nearby towns and locations including Sestriere, a ski resort in the western Alps near the French border, Bardonecchia and Pragelato.
The Special Olympics World Winter Games showcase athletic abilities at international competitions while also promoting inclusion, acceptance, and unity. They aim to break down stereotypes and celebrate the talents and achievements of athletes with intellectual disabilities on the global stage.
NASA astronauts to return in SpaceX capsule
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will be returning to Earth in late March in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
SpaceX made history in 2020 when it teamed up with NASA to send two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) and back, marking the first time a private company has accomplished this feat.
Williams and Wilmore initially arrived at the ISS in June 2024 for a 10-day mission. However, due to technical issues on their original Boeing Starliner spacecraft, they had to extend their stay as it was too risky for them to return to Earth. Williams and Wilmore will continue to conduct research on the ISS until their return home.
World Expo 2025
Japan will host the World Expo from April 13 to October 13 for the third time since 1990, providing a global stage for countries and organisations to showcase cultural displays as well as innovations in technology. Previous Expos have unveiled groundbreaking inventions like the telephone, television, and X-rays.
“Designing Future Society for Our Lives” will be the theme of the 2025 World Expo, which will explore how we humans can create a sustainable and fulfilling future for all, focusing on three subthemes: Saving Lives, Empowering Lives and Connecting Lives. These subthemes address critical global challenges such as health, well-being, sustainable development and social connection, inviting participants to showcase their visions for the future.
The Expo site, located on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay, will serve as a living laboratory for exploring these future-oriented concepts. The event aims to foster global dialogue and collaboration, encouraging the sharing of knowledge and best practices to address shared challenges.
Gabon general election
Gabon will vote in August 2025, the first elections held in the country since the end of the 56-year Bongo family dynasty, first led by Omar Bongo and then his son Ali.
Just a few hours after Gabon’s electoral commission announced Ali’s reelection in August 2023, members of the country’s presidential guard overthrew him in a coup. This was the seventh coup in Central and West Africa since 2020.
In November 2023, the ruling military junta promised to hold national elections in August 2025, without giving a specific date. Gabonese citizens voted overwhelmingly in November to adopt a new constitution that, among other things, establishes a seven-year presidential term, bars family members from succeeding a president and mandates that presidents have at least one Gabon-born parent and a Gabonese spouse. Ali Bongo, who has a French wife, is now banned from the presidency while General Brice Oliugi Nguema, leader of the military junta, is widely expected to run.
Gabon is an oil-rich member of OPEC+ with one of the highest per-capita GDPs in Africa.
Women’s Rugby World Cup
Following the 2010 tournament, England will be hosting the Women's Rugby World Cup from August 22 to September 27 – the 10th edition of the competition. This expanded competition will feature 16 teams (up from 12 in 2021) representing seven regions.
The 2025 World Cup will also be the first to be held across eight cities in England, with the opening and closing matches scheduled to take place in Sunderland and London, respectively.
While New Zealand, which has won the tournament a record six times, are the defending champions, England currently sit at the top of the world rankings and are seen as the favourites to win.
Brazil to host COP 30
COP29 in Azerbaijan saw wealthy polluters finally agree to provide at least $300 billion a year by 2035 to developing nations to help them transition to clean energy and adapt to the effects of climate change. This move was slammed by developing countries, however, who say they need $1.3 trillion in climate funds to cope with the effects.
Brazil will host COP30 from November 10 to 21 in Belem do Para, a city located at the edge of the Amazon forest. Holding COP30 in the Amazon is expected to help draw attention to issues such as deforestation and the rights of Indigenous people.
“The Amazon shows us the way, with its immense biodiversity and huge territory threatened by climate change. […] Holding COP30 in the heart of the forest is a powerful reminder of our responsibility to keep the planet within our 1.5°C target,” Marina Silva, Brazil’s minister for the environment and climate change, said as she formally announced Brazil as the location of COP30.
Jane Austen’s birth will be marked with events around the world
Jane Austen's enduring appeal continues 250 years after her birth on December 16, 1775. Her six novels, including the celebrated “Pride and Prejudice” (1813), offer timeless insights into the role of women, social class and family.
To commemorate her 250th birthday, several publishing houses are releasing special editions of her works, and celebratory events including balls, festivals and theatrical performances are taking place across the UK and around the world.
Jane Austen’s House, now a museum located in Chawton, England, and where Austen lived and wrote her six novels, has opened a permanent exhibition entitled Jane Austen and the Art of Writing ahead of the anniversary.
