By Jess Bourne

Ah, we’ve come to the end of another year and about to start another. It’s been a busy year for politics, entertainment and daily life, so let’s jump in and see what happened in 2024.  

*This article contains news that some may find distressing*

January –  

Kicking things off in January, Mickey and Minnie mouse entered public domain in the US after their copyright expired. The famous duo first appeared in a 1928 short film, Steamboat Willie. Royal Mail issued 15 stamps to celebrate the Spice Girls to mark their 30th anniversary. Each member featured on a stamp and some stamps included stills from their performances in various countries/events. It was revealed that The Doomsday Clock had remained at 90 seconds to midnight. And disposable vapes were set to be banned in the UK over children’s health fears. Australia, France, Germany and New Zealand have all announced similar plans.  

February –  

February, it’s the shortest month of the year, but it was still jam packed with news from around the world. Firstly, the ban on American XL bully dog came into force in England and Wales. David Marjot became the world’s oldest graduate. He first graduated from Kingston University and worked as a psychiatrist and 72 years later, he graduated with an MA in Modern European Philosophy. Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III had been diagnosed with cancer and conspiracy theories were flying around His Majesty and Trisha Paytas’ baby. The BAFTAs made headlines after Michael J Fox made an appearance to present the award for best film and got a standing ovation – it was the only way to welcome a legend. The brightest, hungriest black hole was detected. Every day, it consumes the mass equivalent to one sun – make sure to keep your distance. A fossil, found in southern China, which dated back 240 million years and was thought to be a ‘dragon’. It was given this nickname due to its long neck. The aquatic reptile is known as a Dinocephalosaurus orientalis – if you can pronounce it correctly, you can have eternal glory. And finally, Dave Myers, part of the Hairy Bikers duo, sadly passed away aged 66 following a cancer diagnosis.  

March –  

Going into March now, and this is when everyone is in disbelief about how fast the year is going. France became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right – go France! And now what if I said, Mr Darcy, lake and shirt? Do you know what I’m talking about? Well, said shirt was up for auction with all the proceeds going to charity. It was sold for £25,000. Ah, only if I had that sort of money… Moving on, a woman in Wales was lifted into the air after shop shutters were opened by the workers inside, in which she was leaning against. The Oscars were just around the corner and saw multiple stars win awards including Robert Downey Jr, Cillian Murphy, and Emma Stone. And Finland was named as the happiest country in the world for the seventh year in a row, beating out Denmark, Iceland and Norway. And after conspiracies theories circulating on the internet, Catherine Princess of Wales released a video announcing that she was undergoing cancer treatment. And finally, wrapping up March, parents that have lost a pregnancy before 24 weeks are now able to apply for a certificate that recognises the loss.  

April –  

A third of the way through the year now and there were quite a few events that couldn’t be left out of this roundup. Let’s get into it. The last survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack, Louis Conter died at the age of 102 and Russell Cook successfully managed to run the full length of Africa in just 352 days. Harry Styles made the news this month after his stalker was jailed and banned from ever see him perform live, after she sent him thousands of cards. Venice became the first city in the world to start charging an entry fee for tourists. It was put in place to try and tackle the mass tourism in the country. And in the UK, the first personalised vaccine for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is underway. The vaccine allows it to be changed to suit each individual patient. And now going to the land down under, rallies took place in Australia after a wave of violence against women. The demonstrators wanted gender-based violence to be declared as a national emergency and stricter laws to be put in place.  

May –  

Five months in and the news is still coming. Ever heard of Mr Brightside? You must have! Well, it’s certainly a big song, but it was revealed that it has never topped the UK charts despite it being such a big hit. It wasn’t long until it was Eurovision time again, with Olly Alexander representing the UK, but in true UK fashion, we received no points from the public. And it was Switzerland that was crowned Eurovision Champion with Nemo. Rishi Sunak, remember him? He announced a general election for the 4 July, and we all know how that went… Keeping with the politics, but hoping over the pond, Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in his first criminal trial. He will set to be sentenced on 11 July.  

June –  

Halfway through 2024 now. 85-year-old Lucille was working towards her fourth university degree after deciding that she didn’t want to just sit around in her retirement. She is working towards a religious studies, philosophy and ethics course with the Open University. She will finish the degree when she is in her nineties. And a victory for the women when Claudia Sheinbaum was elected as Mexico’s first female president in a landslide win. And tributes poured in for TV and radio presenter, Michael Mosley after his body was found after a five-day search. He went missing while in Greece on holiday with his wife. And finally, after going missing in mid-June, the search for Jay Slater, a British teenager, who went missing in Tenerife was called off.  

July –  

Into the second half of the year now, can we start the countdown to Christmas? But first check your bags! A stolen painting which was found in a plastic bag sold for £17.6m at auction. Rest On The Flight Into Egypt was painted in 1510 and was stolen from Longleat in 1995. Some politics now… Labour won the 2024 UK general election after reaching the required number of seats, with Keir Starmer becoming the new Prime Minister. Boeing agreed to plead guilty to criminal fraud conspiracy after the US found that it violated a reform deal following two fatal 737 Max crashes, killing 346 people. Surprisingly, England made it to the Euro 2024 final, making it a back-to-back final for the team, but unfortunately, we fell at the last hurdle and lost 2-1 to Spain. Back to Donald Trump, he was rushed off stage during a rally in Pennsylvania after being shot in the ear. And a body found in Tenerife was confirmed as Jay Slater, the British teenager, who went missing the month before. Following Joe Biden’s announcement that he was ending his re-election campaign; Kamala Harris secured enough support to win a Democratic nomination. Mattel also unveiled its first ever blind Barbie doll. The doll came complete with a cane and dark glasses. It has also been designed with textured clothing, so that blind or low vision children, can feel the outfits she’s wearing. And finally, three young girls who were killed in a mass stabbing, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, were named by the police. 

August –  

In August now and coming to the end of the summer, if we even got one. We saw the first all-Black gymnastics podium in Olympic history, being made up of Rebeca Andrade, Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles. The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Mpox as a global health emergency after there was an outbreak in parts of Africa. Remember the cucumber salads that took over everyone’s FYPs on TikTok? Well, farmers in Iceland were unable to keep up with the supermarkets demand after the interest in trying the trend. And then, the internet broke when Liam and Noel Gallagher confirmed that Oasis are reuniting for live shows in 2025. They will be performing all around the UK and Europe and it will be the first time they perform live in 16 years.  

September – 

September is here and means two things – children return to school and Christmas decorations start to pop up in every shop. Two sisters, in their 90s received honorary degrees, more than 60 years since they finished studying. They trained to be teachers but never received formal qualifications. James Earl Jones, the voice behind Darth Vader and Mufasa passed away at the age of 93. And after pleading guilty to his charges in July, Huw Edwards received a six-month suspended sentence for making indecent images of children, which meant he avoided jail time. And have you ever reclined your seat while on a flight? Everyone has their own opinion on it, but a couple have been banned by an airline after they had an argument with a woman who had reclined her seat. And at the end of September, we said goodbye to an on-screen legend when we lost Dame Maggie Smith at the age of 89, most notably known for the Harry Potter films and Downton Abbey.   

October –  

Spooky season now. Following the release of two shows on Netflix about the Menendez brothers, more than 30 years after the murder, the case was set to be reviewed. And Directioners were sent into mourning when the news broke that former One Direction star, Liam Payne, had died in Argentina after falling from the third floor of a hotel. Taking a trip under the sea now – large animals had been discovered living under the seabed, which revealed a thriving ecosystem which had previously been unknown. Gives me chills just thinking about how much we don’t know. And the UK government confirmed that all disposable vapes will be banned in England and Wales from June 2025.  

November –  

Okay, it’s officially Christmas now. What says November like a new Conservative leader? Kemi Badenoch took over from Rishi Sunak to be the new leader of the opposition. Anyone remember Peanut the squirrel from social media? The poor squirrel was euthanised following a raid on Mark Longo’s house after complaints of potentially unsafe housing for the animal. A raccoon named Fred also joined Peanut in animal heaven. And the day everyone dreaded. A felon, a rapist and a racist had been re-elected into the White House. Well done, America… And to finish off November, another thing that divided X (it doesn’t take much anymore), MPs voted in favour of a bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults. It will be followed by months of debates and alterations before it passes into law.  

December –  

We made it to the end! We kicked off the month with some news in from Belgium. Sex workers in the country will now be able to have regular job contracts and subsequently be entitled to health insurance, pensions, sick pay and maternity leave. It became the first country in the world to pass a law to give labour rights to sex workers. And following a string of allegations against him, including inappropriate sexual comments and inappropriate behaviour, Gregg Wallace hit back in an Instagram video claiming that the allegations had come from “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age”. A statue of the late Syrian president was torn down in the city of Hama, after Syrian rebels took control of the country’s second major city. And it wasn’t long until the city was declared as ‘free’ after 13 years of civil war. Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot in the back outside the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan. And Luigi Mangione was later charged with first-degree murder. And Gisèle Pelicot’s ex-husband, Dominique was jailed for 20 years following a mass rape trial. Fifty other men were also found guilty. And finally, we saw the New Year in and left 2024 behind. I’ll see you in a year’s time.  

Photo Credit to brotiN biswaS on Pexels