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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Jason Okundaye

The Long Wave: From the Met Gala to Afcon, 2025 promises to be a bumper year

From left: Michael Jackson, the author Natasha Brown, actor Colman Domingo, Boarders actor Jodie Campbell and the Afcon trophy
Stars of 2025, from left: Michael Jackson, the author Natasha Brown, actor Colman Domingo, Boarders actor Jodie Campbell and the Afcon trophy Illustration: Joe Plimmer/Guardian Pictures/Getty/Antonio Olmos/BBC/Jonathan Birch

Hello and welcome to The Long Wave. It’s always hard, and a little presumptuous, to predict on 1 January what will matter for the next 365 days, but the start of the new year is the best time to look ahead.

To that end, this week’s newsletter is a non-exhaustive curation of things to keep your eye on in 2025. From the return of Caryl Phillips to the Met Gala, it’s shaping up to be another monumental year for Black culture across the diaspora. But first, here’s the weekly roundup.

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