Rio Carnival 2015
A reveller from the Mangueira samba school participates in the annual carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome. Reuters

As we enter New Year 2016, here are some dates for your diary in the coming 12 months.

January

Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight is released in UK cinemas – 8th

Barack Obama delivers the annual State of the Union address – 12th

Oscars nominations are revealed – 14th

World Economic Forum in Davos – 20th to 23rd

February

Rio Carnival – 5th to 9th

Six Nations rugby tournament begins – 6th to 7th

The Super Bowl – 7th

Chinese New Year, the year of the monkey, begins – 8th

Grammy awards – 15th

Sepp Blatter's successor as Fifa president elected – 26th

Oscars ceremony – 28th

March

Solar total eclipse – 8th to 9th

George Osborne delivers UK budget – 16th

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opens in UK cinemas – 25th

Easter Sunday – 27th

April

Lord Janner's "trial of the facts" over child sex abuse allegations begins – TBC

Completion of the Chilcot Inquiry over Iraq before its publication in June or July – TBC

Grand National – 9th

Oscar Pistorius murder sentencing – 18th

The Queen turns 90 – 21st

London Marathon – 24th

Captain America: Civil War 3D opens in UK cinemas – 29th

May

London mayoral election – 5th

Baftas – 8th

Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden – 14th

FA Cup Final – 21st

G7 summit in Japan – 26th to 27th

June

Rumoured month of Britain's proposed EU referendum – TBC

Ramadan month begins – 6th

Euro 2016 football championships begin – 10th

Royal Ascot – 14th to 18th

Glastonbury Festival – 23rd to 27th

Independence Day Resurgence opens in UK cinemas – 24th

Wimbledon starts – 27th

July

Centenary of the start of WWI's Battle of the Somme – 1st

Tour de France starts – 2nd

Star Trek Beyond opens in UK cinemas – 22nd

Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Roald Dahl's The BFG opens in cinemas – 22nd

August

Rio Olympic Games – 5th to 21st

Edinburgh Festival – 5th to 29th

Premier League football season begins – 16th

Ukraine marks 25th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union – 24th

September

G20 summit in China – 4th to 5th

Rio Paralympic Games – 7th to 18th

Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca – 9th to 14th

Russian Duma elections – 18th

Ryder Cup begins – 30th

October

Man Booker Prize for fiction awarded – 11th

November

UN climate change talks in Marrakesh – 7th to 18th

US presidential election – 8th

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, JK Rowling's first instalment in the Harry Potter spin-off trilogy, opens in UK cinemas – 18th

December

Rogue One, a Star Wars spin-off film, opens in cinemas – 17th

Source: Future Events News Service

Euro 2016 Oscars Wimbledon