2025: No predictions for the year ahead

Published on 26 December 2024 by Andrew Owen (3 minutes)

For the last two years, I’ve made predictions for the year ahead. Well this year when I looked in my crystal ball, I didn’t like what I saw. So I’m changing the format. Instead of making any predictions, I’ll be listing some things to look forward to in the year ahead.

Anniversaries

These are some things celebrating their centenary:

• Battleship Potemkin
• Grand Ole Opry
• The Great Gatsby
• The New Yorker
• Plaid Cymru

Astronomy

Expected celestial events include:

• 2 total lunar eclipses (in March and September).
• 2 partial solar eclipses (also in March and September).
• 3 supermoons (in October, November and December).
• 4 oppositions (when Mars, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus are at their closest approaches to Earth).
• 11 meteor showers (occurring in every month except February, March, June and September).

Books

The novel is alive and well. These are just a hadndful of Goodreads readers’ most anticipated books of 2025:

• The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis (January)
• We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes (February)
• Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (March)
• The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff (April)
• The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (May)
• The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater (June)
• Katabasis by Rebecca F. Kuang (August)
• The Ballad of Falling Dragons by Sarah A. Parker (October)

Festivals

Wherever you go, there you are – and you’re probably not far from a festival. Here are some of the bigger ones taking place in Europe next year:

• Carnival: Carnevale di Venezia (February 15 to March 4, Italy)
• Film: Festival de Cannes (May 13–24, France)
• Electronic music: Tomorrowland (July 18–20 and July 25 to 27, Belgium)
• Comedy: Edinburgh Festival Fringe (August 1 to 25, Scotland)
• Beer: Oktoberfest (September 20 to October 5, Germany)

Films

If you’re not tired of superhero movies already, you’ve got plenty to look forward to. Personally, I’m done with them. But here are some films slated for release next year that caught my attention:

• 28 Years Later
• The Book of Mormon
• Dirty Dancing 2
• Predator: Badlands
• Sesame Street

Games

This year I finally replaced my ancient refurbished original PlayStation®4. Some video game things I’m looking forward to include:

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Grand Theft Auto VI
• Marathon
• Nintendo Switch 2
• Retro Games full size Amiga console

Music

I agree with Pat Finnerty: most of the music you hear in public spaces is soul-numbing. Musical complexity peaked in the 1960s, but in my view the 1990s was the greatest music decade of all time. However, people are still making great new music (if you can find it), and there are also interesting new releases from established artists:

• Iggy Pop – Live At Montreux Jazz Festival 2023
• Bootsy Collins – Album of the Year #1 Funkateer
• Ringo Starr – Look Up
• Soul Coughing – Live 2024
• Thin Lizzy – Acoustic Sessions

Sport

There’s always a local team to support, but you can’t beat the spectacle of an international competition. Next years include:

• European Para Youth Games
• UEFA Women’s Euro
• Women’s Rugby World Cup

Television

The networks and the streaming services continue to put out more content than any one person could possibly have time to consume. I watch Pitch Meeting and read Patrick Freyne instead. But I probably will binge a few sci-fi and fantasy shows such as:

• Andor
• Avatar: The Last Airbender (although it might not release until 2026)
• Blade Runner 2099
• Neuromancer
• Section 31
• Strange New Worlds

Bonus

Works entering the public domain in the US on January 1 include:

• Popeye by Elzie Crisler Segar
• Tintin by Hergé
• “A Cup of Gold” by John Steinbeck
• “A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway
• “The Sound and the Fury” by William Faulkner

Hopefully you found something here to inspire you, or at least provide a diversion. I’ll leave you with one prediction: in 2026 the world won’t have ended.