Here’s to a fresh start

An extra day

2024 is a leap year. This means that February will have 29 days instead of 28. Since this happens every four years, the next February 29 will only come around in 2028. Make the 366th day count by doing something fun and memorable.

Ballot ballet

2024 is an unusually busy election year. At least 40 countries around the world will go to the polls. This means that voters in countries representing more than 40% of the world’s population will elect their national leaders. With countries including the U.S. and India — the world’s largest democracy — on the list, the results could shape global politics and economy. Several milestones are on the cards. For instance, in Mexico, both the leading presidential candidates are women for the first time in history. Elections for the European Parliament, considered to be the world’s biggest transnational election, will also take place. South Africa, Taiwan, Indonesia, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and many other countries will have elections.

Sporting dreams

The biggest sporting event of the year is set to take centrestage in July and August: the Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Apart from Olympic regulars, such as athletics, badminton, gymnastics, hockey, tennis, swimming, weightlifting and more, this edition will mark the debut of breaking, sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing. The countdown is on for the battle of the world’s best sporting stars.

Cricket lover? Watch your favourite icons battle it out at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the US in June. It will be the women’s turn in September and October, as the tournament rolls into Bangladesh.

Prefer football? Worry not. Get set for exciting action as the European Championship, UEFA Euro 2024, takes place in Germany in June-July.

Celestial treat

One of the most anticipated astronomical events of the year is the total solar eclipse on April 8. People across North America will witness the skies darken, as the Moon completely covers the Sun. The next total solar eclipse will be in August 2026.

Space craze

After a successful 2023 involving Chandrayaan-3, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has a busy 2024 in store, with work happening on Gaganyaan (India’s first human spaceflight programme), Mangalyaan-2 (the country’s second mission to Mars) and Shukrayaan-1 (first mission to Venus).

Also slated for launch are China’s Chang’e 6, which will aim to obtain soil and rock samples from the far side of the Moon, and NASA’s Artemis II, a crewed mission that will fly around the Moon and back.

This day, that age

2024 marks several significant anniversaries, including the 75th year of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the 20th year of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami, and the 10th year of the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. It will also be 50 years since Operation Smiling Buddha, India’s first successful nuclear test, and the discovery of the Terracotta Army in China, one of the world’s greatest archaeological sites. The London Eye turns 25 and One World Trade Center in New York City turns 10.

Photos: AP, ANI, Getty Images/iStockphoto, Wikimedia Commons