Top 10 Most Anticipated World Events of 2022

Though Eurovision as an institution is most prominent on its namesake continent, it has been getting more play worldwide in recent years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was the first year the contest didn’t take place, but it did see the release of a Eurovision-themed comedy movie, subtitled “The Story of Fire Saga.” Eurovision returned in 2021, as Italy took home the top prize with the song “Zitti e buoni” by the rock band Måneskin. As is tradition, Italy will now host the 2022 iteration in Turin. With forty-one countries participating, the contest will run between May 10th thru the 14th.

You know this wouldn’t be a future-based list without some cool space stuff. Though NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope was officially launched on Christmas Day 2021, it won’t reach its final destination for another thirty days or so. That orbit point will be the second Lagrange point in the Sun-Earth system, over 900,000 miles from its starting location. Able to see in infrared, the Telescope will be a marked improvement over the Hubble. Its mission will be to give us a deeper understanding of the origins of the universe, from the formations of galaxies and their respective stars and planets to the Big Bang itself. We’ll be eagerly awaiting any findings both in 2022 and beyond.

In 1994, Angela Merkel was appointed German Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. After assuming the role of German Chancellor in 2005, the highest office in the land, Merkel made it an issue to do away with nuclear power in favor of renewable resources. With the advent of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, which was caused by an earthquake and tsunami off the coast of Japan, Merkel's government announced the cessation of nuclear power in 2022. And right on schedule, Germany looks to be keeping its promise. Though the use of nuclear energy remains a hotly contested issue from both sides, there are already many countries following Germany’s example.

While it seems lately like US presidential elections are more hotly contested than anything under the sun, the 2022 campaigns may have far-reaching effects in their own right. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be up for grabs, as will 34 of the 100 in the Senate. This will in turn decide the 118th Congress, which will reside for the final two years of Democratic President Joe Biden’s first term in office. With the 117th Congress holding a Democratic majority in both the Senate and the House, it’s possible that Biden could enjoy that advantage for his full presidential term.

Quick, how many countries are there in the world? If you guessed 195, you’d be correct. Chances are, however, few of you had a very good inkling, partially because that number is periodically subject to change. Well, it could be changing again in the near future, as the most populated state in Micronesia, Chuuk, will be possibly voting for independence in 2022. Though a potential vote has been delayed a couple times since 2015, this could end up being a very interesting development should it come to pass, particularly considering the potential country’s international relationships.

Yes, this is an American film, but Batman is such a world-renowned character that it’d be shocking if this release didn’t make global waves in March of 2022. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, movie theaters have taken a major hit, but audiences have shown they’re willing to show up for the right movie, as “Spider-Man: No Way Home” became the first film in two years to cross $1 billion at the box office in December 2021. And if there’s any superhero bigger than Spider-Man, it’s Batman. In a time when the world feels more divided than ever for a myriad of reasons, this could give us all something to cheer about. We mean, assuming it’s good. Because, c’mon, look at that beautiful trailer.

We can already hear people accusing us of jinxing things, what with Elizabeth having turned ninety-five years old in April 2021, but this milestone has been anticipated for some time now, so if anyone’s jinxed it, it ain’t us. Indeed, assuming Elizabeth II is still Queen of the United Kingdom on February 6, 2022, she will have held that title for a whopping seventy years. Going back as far as the 18th century, only three monarchs in the world have reached that distinction. Naturally, the UK is set to have a big celebration. Though the festivities won’t begin until June, the government has called it a “once-in-a-generation show.” Since Elizabeth is a once-in-a-generation gal, we would certainly hope so.

Kicking off on February 4th, the Winter Olympics in 2022 will make Beijing the first city to have hosted both the summer and winter iterations of the games. Beijing narrowly edged out the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan for hosting duties. However, the choice was not without controversy. Several countries have announced diplomatic boycotts due to human rights issues. There are also concerns about the environmental impact, due to Beijing’s unreliable snowfall and the amount of artificial snow required. The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was considered by many to be a highlight of what the Olympics can achieve, but we’ll have to wait to see what 2022 brings.

We return to space for our penultimate entry. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. A probe was launched in November of 2021 with the intention of crashing into the minor-planet moon known as Dimorphos that exists adjacent to the Didymos asteroid. All of which is to say that DART will determine how feasible it would be for a spacecraft to deflect an asteroid that’s on a collision course with Earth. Tune back in around late September-early October for the results. While it’s not as sexy as training a group of drillers to be astronauts to blow up an asteroid from the inside, it’ll be pretty cool all the same.

As much as people like the Olympics, when it comes to international sporting competitions, nothing tops the FIFA World Cup in terms of global excitement. Set to be hosted by Qatar, the smallest country to do so, the 2022 tournament will also be the first to be held in the Arab nation. Another first, the competition will take place in November and December rather than the traditional summer months so as to avoid the extreme heat the area is known for. While there was some controversy with the host selection process over claims of bribery, none of that has prevented the World Cup from coming to Qatar, which will likely see as ardent a viewership as ever.