WORLD AGENDA
2026


JANUARY

Bulgaria joins the eurozone as 21st member after it adopts the euro

Sarah Mullally becomes first female Archbishop of Canterbury, taking on the role of spiritual leader for around 85 million Anglicans worldwide

The United Nations designates 2026 as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development

FEBRUARY

New START, the last treaty limiting U.S. and Russian long-range nuclear weapons, expires

The Winter Olympics begin in Milan and Cortina, Italy

China marks the Year of the Horse. People born under this sign are said to
 be passionate, energetic and charming

MARCH

Paris elects a new mayor after the two-term tenure of Anne Hidalgo

Nepal holds the first general elections since deadly anti-corruption protests in September

The 98th Academy Awards take place in Los Angeles

APRIL

U.S. President Trump travels to Beijing for a state visit, invited by Chinese President Xi Jinping

Viktor Orbán seeks to extend his 15-year tenure as Hungary votes in parliamentary elections

The 50th anniversary of the founding of Apple Computer by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in a Cupertino garage

MAY

May Day, known as Labour Day, is observed across the globe

Colombians go to the polls to elect President Gustavo Petro’s successor

The 70th Eurovision Song Contest final is held in Vienna

JUNE

The FIFA World Cup kicks off, jointly hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada

Britain marks the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum

The main tower of Barcelona’s Sagrada Família is completed, 144 years after construction began

JULY

U.S. marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence

Heads of state from all BRICS member countries gather in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

NATO holds its annual summit in Ankara, Türkiye, bringing together member leaders

AUGUST

The first total solar eclipse over mainland Europe in 27 years sweeps across Greenland, Iceland and Spain

The 80th edition of The Fringe, the world’s largest arts festival, fills the streets of Edinburgh

Birmingham hosts the European Athletics Championships – the first time the UK has held the event

SEPTEMBER

The FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup takes place in Berlin

Americans observe the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the nation’s worst terrorist attack

The Bayeux Tapestry returns to the UK for the first time in over 900 years, as France loans the 11th-century masterpiece

OCTOBER

India begins the first phase of its first fully digital national census

Winnie-the-Pooh, the first book in AA Milne’s much-loved series, celebrates its 100th anniversary

Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, seeks a fourth term in a general election

NOVEMBER

All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and one-third of Senate seats are contested in midterm elections

The UN COP31 climate conference takes place in Türkiye

Voyager 1, the most distant human-made object, reaches one light-day from Earth – 25.9bn km – 49 years after its 1977 launch

DECEMBER

Donald Trump hosts the G20 leaders summit at his Doral golf club near Miami

South Sudan is due to hold the first general election since the country’s independence in 2011

Dune: Part Three – the latest instalment of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s original series – is released


NASA’s long-delayed Artemis II mission will carry four astronauts on a flyby of the Moon no earlier than February

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© GRAPHIC NEWS
Sources: NewsAhead, Emma Luck
Pictures: Newscom, Getty Images, U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, Rob Janoff, AA Milne, Oscar illustration created with Google Gemini, Warner Bros