2012 London OlympicsReutersTwo special events will take place in the UK in 2012: the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic Games. The CEBR anticipates that the former will be a huge success, while the latter may be something of a disappointment.ReutersIt’ll be gadgets galore this holiday season as tech firms flooded the market with new toy devices, meant to lure the young and old, that are expected to be snapped up in huge numbers by Christmas shoppers.REUTERSIf you are a film fan – particularly a Lord of the Rings (LOTR) fan – then 2012 is an exciting year for you. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first of two films inspired by JRR Tolkein’s book about the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, is being filmed and is scheduled for release on 13 December. Expect more stunning visuals from LOTR director Peter Jackson, who has taken on this film. There is also something for superhero fans, as The Dark Knight Rises, yet another Batman film, starring Christian Bale is due for release on 20 July. With a budget of around $250 million, Batman fans will be expecting even more than 2008’s critically acclaimed The Dark Knight, which had a budget of $185 million. Bond fans have reason for excitement too, with the scheduled release of Skyfall on 26 October. Daniel Craig returns as the smooth MI6 spy and, according to the Internet Movie Database: “Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her.”James FisherEngland (just) made it through to the Euro 2012 finals in Poland and Ukraine, which is a reason to celebrate! Unless you are from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, who all failed to qualify. Perhaps they will rally together to cheer on their neighbours through the group stage, as England face France, Sweden and host nation Ukraine. It is not as if there is any history between us or anything. If they are really not happy about showing any support for England, they can at least find solace in our inevitable defeat in a penalty shootout. The competition starts on 8 June and runs until the final on 1 July .ReutersFans of the first two Mass Effect games only have to wait until 9 March for the next instalment, as Commander Shepard returns to fight another epic futuristic space war, this time trying to save Planet Earth from a Reaper onslaught. The game's executive producer, Casey Hudson (pictured), briefed the media on what to expect at 2011's Electronic Entertainment Expo. The Metal Gear series also gets another game in 2012, with the release date yet to be confirmed. Players will be a cyborg ninja called Raiden, who is an expert swordsman, as they slash and hack their way through the game. Additional releases in 2012 that gaming fans will be keen to get their hands on include Halo 4, Far Cry 3 and May Payne 3, among others.Reuters2011 was such a significant year for the mainstream print media. News of the World (NOTW) shut down its printing presses; former News International (NI) journalists and executives, including ex-editor Andy Coulson (pictured) and ex-NI chief Rebekah Brooks, were arrested; an independent inquiry into press standards and three police investigations into the activities of journalists were launched; the extent of phone hacking by some journalists was revealed. All in all, it was hard to keep up. Other newspaper groups are now being dragged into the mire, such as Trinity Mirror Group, which has question marks hanging over it in relation to phone hacking. All of this is set to come to a dramatic head in March 2012, when those arrested by police in relation to Operations Weeting, Elveden and Tuleta – into phone hacking, inappropriate payments to police and computer hacking, respectively – must answer their bail. Will we see more people jailed for phone hacking, like former NOTW journalist Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were in 2006? Or will everyone be released without charge? Then there’s the conclusion of the gripping Leveson Inquiry into press standards, which has seen devastating testimony from its witnesses, including the parents of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, whose phone was hacked by journalists in the days after she went missing. The inquiry will make recommendations to Parliament on press regulation that have the potential to dramatically change how the British media operates.ReutersFor Londoners, one of the biggest questions of 2012 will be: Are you backing Boris or calling for Ken? On 3 May the London Mayoral Elections will take place, when voters go to the polls to choose who will be the beating heart of England’s capital city until 2016. Tory incumbent Boris Johnson, known for his bumbling persona, dishevelled look and hatred of bendy buses, is seeking another four years. Labour’s Ken Livingstone, who was ousted as mayor by Boris in the 2008 elections, is standing again, promising cuts to Tube fares. Polls show Boris ahead of Ken by around 8 per cent, but anything can happen in the run-up to an election – especially with gaffe-prone Boris. Other candidates include Liberal Democrat Brian Paddick, the Green Party’s Jenny Jones, UKIP’s Lawrence Webb and the BNP’s Carlos Cortiglia.ReutersIn April, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders reached a last-minute budget deal in order to avert a government shutdown. Approved stopgap funding was needed in order to keep federal agencies open that month until a budget agreement was formally enacted. Some $39 billion in spending cuts were called for and without it, hundreds of thousands of workers would have been left idling.ReutersThe path of the total solar eclipse on 13 November will go across Australia and the South Pacific.ReutersMad Men gets its fifth run in March, as the latest series documenting the dramas of a 1960s advertising agency is aired. It has won numerous awards for its portrayal of the style, glamour and social mores in that tumultuous decade in America. The series has also thrown the stunning Christina Hendricks (pictured) into the limelight, as she plays the office manager at the Mad Men agency Sterling Cooper Draper Price. Satirical writer Armando Iannucci, who has writing credits on Brass Eye and The Day Today among a number of other hilarious series, has teamed up once again with Simon Blackwall to create the new HBO comedy Veep, which will air in 2012. Veep is centred around Selina Meyer, US vice-president, and her experiences near the top of American politics. Iannucci and Blackwall’s writing partnership on side-splitting The Thick of It and In The Loop demonstrate that Veep has every chance of being a roaring comic success. There is also talk of a new series of The Thick of It appearing in 2012.Reuters2012 Doomsday Predictions: How Will the World End Next Year?Reuters
Worried about a terrible 2012? International Business Times UK takes a look at some of the things that may brighten the year ahead for some people.
With economic forecasts of rising unemployment, another recession for Britain and an overall "gloomy" outlook for the entire year, there appears to be little to get excited about.
So although 2012 looks set to be a bit rubbish, fear not, because amid the doom and gloom there are a dozen things some of us at least can feel good about.
