The biggest global events in 2022 | Sunday Observer

The biggest global events in 2022

6 March, 2022

Every year has significant events. Yet, some years have more significant events. 2022 is such year with many more globally significant events. In this article, we try to show you what kind of global events that mark this year. Mainly, there are global sports events as well as internationally important political events in 2022.

ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup

(March 4 - April 3)

We will see ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 which is scheduled to be held from March 4 to April 3. There, world’s best eight cricketing nations battle it out for glory, and matches will be played in New Zealand.

French Open

(May 22 - June 5)

Another major sporting event is French Open Tennis Championship which will be held from May 22 until June 5. In the women’s singles final at the 2021 Championship Barbora Krejčíková of the Czech Republic won her maiden Grand Slam defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia. In the men’s singles 2021, Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece to become the first male player in the Open Era to win all four Grand Slams twice.

The Wimbledon

(June 27 - July 10)

Wimbledon, another major Tennis Championship, will be held from June 27 to July 10. For the first time in its history, it will not have a Middle Sunday — a traditional day off between the first and second weeks of the tournament. This brings 2022 Wimbledon in line with the other three Grand Slams.

Commonwealth Games
(July 28 - August 8)

This time Commonwealth Games is hosted by Birmingham, England. It will unfold from July 28 to August 8 with 286 sessions across 19 sports. It will have more medal events for women than men unlike other times. One of added game for this time is Women’s T20 in cricket. On the other hand, men’s cricket has been part of the Commonwealth Games since 1998.

US Open

(August 29 - Sept. 11)

US Open Tennis Championship will be held this year from August 29 to September 11. Russian star and world No.2 Daniil Medvedev was the only player to break the rampaging march of Djokovic 2021, when he defeated the Serbian to win the US Open. But the attention in the US Open will be on defending champion Emma Raducanu, who took the world by storm by becoming one of the youngest winners of a Grand Slam tournament in 2021. Raducanu is currently the youngest of the top 20 players on the WTA list.

Asian Games

(Sept. 10 - 25)

Officially known as the XIX Asiad, the mega sporting event will be held in Hangzhou, China from September 10 to 25. There will be 40 sports with 482 events across 61 disciplines. For the first time, players from Australia and other Oceania countries will participate in Asian Games. The decision was made by the Olympic Council of Asia. The players will, however, be able to participate in only those sports which qualify for the 2024 Olympics through Asia. These include basketball, association football, volleyball and fencing. China has been the leader in the medals tally since the 1982 Asian Games. The Asian Games will be followed by the 2022 Asian Para Games, officially the IV Asian Para Games, from October 9 until October 15 at Hangzhou.

FIFA World Cup

(Nov. 12 - Dec. 18)

The biggest sporting event of 2022 will be held in Qatar from November 12 until December 18. It is the first FIFA World Cup to take place in the Middle East and Arab world. The opening match will be played at the Al Bayt Stadium, which was inaugurated in 2021. As in some of the previous editions, 32 teams will participate in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. France, the defending champions, qualified for the tournament in 2021. Others who qualified by 2021 include Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany and Spain — all of whom are previous FIFA World Cup winners.

South Korean Presidential election
(March 9)

Among internationally significant political events we first see South Korean presidential election which will start on March 9. Since the 1987 constitutional amendment limited the South Korean presidency to a single five-year term. Incumbent President Moon Jae-in, like his predecessors, cannot be in the race. The main contenders for the polls are Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and Yoon Seok-youl of the People Power Party (PPP), the main Opposition. While Lee is a former governor of Gyeonggi Province, Yoon is the former prosecutor general of South Korea.

Hong Kong Chief Executive election
(March 27)

According to foreign media, the Hong Kong Chief Executive election which is going to be held on March 27 might be another noteworthy election in Asia. The first reason for it is that it will be held when the Special Administrative Region (SAR) celebrates its 25th anniversary of Handover to China from British rule.

The second reason, according to foreign media, is the “survival of democracy.” In the five years since incumbent Chief Executive Carrie Lam came to power in 2017. Protests took place after a controversial extradition bill that would have given Beijing greater authority to punish dissidents in Hong Kong.

French presidential election

(April 10 and April 24)

2022 French presidential election will be held in two rounds — the first on April 10 and the second on April 24, if no one wins a majority in the first round. It is unclear if incumbent President Emmanuel Macron, who came to power in 2017, will contest. However, if he contested he would win, according to experts. There are several names in the fray for the top job in France, but the strongest contender appears to be Valérie Pécresse of the conservative Les Républicains (LR) party.

Philippine general

election (May 9)

This election is to be held on May 9. The Philippine’s constitution has limited presidential terms to one, and thus incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte cannot contest in the upcoming polls. He also decided not to contest for a Senator’s seat in the elections. Among those contestants is Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the son of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos. His running mate is Duterte’s daughter Sara, who herself is leading in the vice presidential race — elections for which are held separately. Other strong candidates in the elections are incumbent vice president Leni Robredo, Manila’s mayor Isko Moreno and boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, who retired from the sport after announcing his candidacy in 2021.

Queen Elizabeth’s

Platinum Jubilee (Feb. 6)

On February 6, Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne, a distinction that no other British monarch before her has ever held. The Queen’s role went from head of an empire to a figurehead for a Commonwealth of nations that are now growing in power and confidence themselves.

Space station around the Moon to be launched

The first component of the Lunar Gateway, a proposed inhabitable space station to be implemented by multiple international space agencies in lunar orbit, is set to be delivered by an undetermined commercial launch vehicle. It will serve as a solar-powered communication hub, science laboratory, short-term habitation module for government-agency astronauts, as well as a holding area for rovers and other robots. It is both the first space station in deep space (beyond low Earth orbit) and the first space station to orbit around the Moon.

ABBA on world tour

Veteran Swedish pop stars ABBA, who released their first album in 40 years in 2021, are planning a world tour for 2022. But, with all the ABBA members now in their 70s, the tour is scheduled to feature the performers as virtual representations of themselves, as well as a 10-piece band on stage, to recreate the experience of seeing them live in their heyday.

2022 is full of global events. If the impact of the Covid19 pandemic decreased considerably, all these events would be more ceremonious and carnival type.

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