2024 will be a landmark year: dozens of elections across the world, unresolved conflicts in Ukraine and Israel-Gaza to address, and further milestones expected in everything from global temperatures to space exploration and artificial intelligence.
Here are some of the major events scheduled for the year.
January
1 January
Energy price cap takes effect
UK participation in EU Horizon resumes
Brics expansion: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and possibly Argentina to join
7 January
Bangladeshi general elections
Golden Globes ceremony. Check out the full list of nominations here
12 January
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration releases global temperature report for 2023
13 January
Taiwanese presidential election
13 January-11 February
Africa Cup of Nations
14-28 January
Australian Open
15-19 January
Davos World Economic Forum
19 January
Japanese Moon Sniper attempts landing
23 January
Oscars nominations
US Republican primaries, New Hampshire
27 January
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
World’s largest cruise ship, the Icon of the Seas, makes inaugural voyage
28 January
Finnish presidential elections
Twenty years since Hutton inquiry report published
February
2 February-16 March
Six Nations rugby tournament
4 February
6-8 February
US Republican primaries, Nevada
7 February
Azerbaijani presidential election
8 February
Pakistani general election
9-17 February
Rio carnival
10 February
Lunar new year
11 February
American football Super Bowl
11-15 February
Swiftposium academic conference on Taylor Swift
14 February
Indonesian general election
16 February
Trial begins of German man accused of Madeleine McCann’s abduction
17 February
EU Digital Services Act comes into force
18 February
23 February
Second anniversary of Russian invasion of Ukraine
24 February
US Republican primaries, South Carolina
25 February
Elections in Belarus, Iraqi Kurdistan and Senegal
February
Nato expected to launch Steadfast Defender, the largest military exercise since the cold war
March
1 March
Iranian legislative elections
1-3 March
World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow
2 March
5 March
US Super Tuesday presidential primary election day
7 March
7-10 March
Crufts, largest dog show in the world
8 March
Irish referendums on gender and family
8-23 March
African Games in Ghana
10 March
Portuguese elections
The Oscars
10 March-9 April
Ramadan
11 March
Fourth anniversary of WHO declaring Covid pandemic
17 March
Russian presidential election
23 March
WWF Earth Hour
30 March
Oxford and Cambridge boat race
31 March
Ukrainian presidential election expected
Elections expected in Slovakia and Togo
April
4 April
Nato 75th anniversary
5 April
Thirty years since the death of Kurt Cobain
8 April
Total solar eclipse across North America
10 April
South Korean elections
20 April-24 November
21 April
London marathon
22 April
April/May
Indian elections. Also Maldives, North Macedonia and Solomon Islands
May
2 May
London mayoral elections
UK local elections
3 May
5 May
Panamanian elections
10 May
Bicentenary of the National Gallery in London
11 May
Eurovision in Malmö, Sweden
The Great Wall marathon, China
12 May
Lithuanian presidential elections (general election in October)
Bafta TV awards
13-19 May
US PGA golf championship
14–25 May
19 May
Dominican Republic elections
20 May – 9 June
French Open
21-25 May
RHS Chelsea flower show
22 May
Uefa Europa League final
23 May-2 June
Hay festival
Ivor Novello awards
25 May
FA Cup final
European Rugby Champions Cup final
26 May-9 June
French Open
Elections expected in Madagascar and South Africa
China scheduled to launch Chang’e 6, a sample-return mission involving a robotic lander, to the far side of the moon
June
1 June
Uefa Champions League final
Icelandic presidential elections
2 June
Mexican elections
“Devil comet” closest to Earth
4-30 June
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
5 June
Global Running Day
6 June
Eightieth anniversary of the D-Day landings
6-9 June
EU parliamentary elections
9 June
Belgian federal elections
10-16 June
US Open golf tournament
13-15 June
Italy hosts the 50th G7 summit
13 June
14 June-14 July
Uefa Euros
14-19 June
Hajj
16-21 June
18-24 June
Royal Ascot
20 June
World Refugee Day
26-30 June
Glastonbury festival begins
27-28 June
European Council summit
29 June-21 July
Tour de France begins
Elections expected in Kiribati, Mauritania and Mongolia
July
1 July
Hungary EU presidency
1-14 July
Wimbledon tennis championships begin
9-11 July
US hosts Nato summit
14 July
Euros final
Copa America final
15-18 July
US Republican national convention
15-19 July
International Botanical Congress in Madrid will vote on a proposal to allow culturally offensive animal names to be changed
18-21 July
The Open golf championship
19 July-14 September
BBC Proms
26 July-11 August
Summer 2024
South African elections. Also Croatia and North Macedonia
August
2-26 August
Edinburgh festival fringe
12-18 August
17 August
The new city of Nusantara is formally inaugurated as the capital of Indonesia, replacing Jakarta
19-22 August
US Democratic national convention
26 August-8 September
US Open tennis championships
28 August-8 September
Elections expected in Rwanda
September
1-8 September
Tour of Britain cycling race
8 September
Great North Run
9 September
Last Night of the Proms
14 September-19 January 2025
Major Van Gogh exhibition at the National Gallery in London
18 September
First US presidential debate
22-23 September
UN Summit of the Future opens in New York
25 September
US vice-presidential debate
Likely:
Mercury prize
Women’s T20 World Cup
Elections expected in Austria, Sri Lanka and Tunisia
Japan’s space agency, Jaxa, is due to launch its MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission to explore Phobos and Deimos, the tiny moons of Mars
October
1 October
Second US presidential debate
5 October
Last ever Singapore Gold Cup horse race
6 October
EU to start rolling out its entry-exit system (EES), requiring non-EU citizens to scan their passports when entering the Schengen free-travel area
9 October
Final US presidential debate
11 October
Nobel peace prize announced
23-27 October
Worldwide Music Expo (Womex), music industry’s biggest conference, starts in Manchester
24 October
Russia hosts Brics summit in Kazan
26 October
Georgian elections
27 October
Uruguayan elections
Elections expected in Bosnia and Botswana
Nasa set to launch Europa Clipper, a probe to study the habitability of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa
The final race of the America’s Cup takes place in Barcelona
October
Vatican to hold synod looking into direction of the Roman Catholic faith
November
5 November
US election
11-22 November
Cop29 climate summit
13 November
Somaliland elections
18 November
Brazil hosts G20 summit
21-24 November
Elections expected in Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritius, Namibia
November
US expected to launch the first crewed mission in 52 years to the moon
December
1 December
World Aids Day
7 December
Ghanaian elections
8 December
Notre Dame in Paris reopens five years after fire
20 December
South Sudan elections
Elections expected in Algeria, Croatia and Uzbekistan
India’s space agency, Isro, is due to launch the Shukrayaan space probe to Venus
Some time in 2024
An antimalarial vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India is expected to be distributed in 12 African nations
A giant spherical structure dedicated to studying neutrinos will become operational in Jiangmen, China
