What happened in 2024 – Global elections, assassination attempts, flooding and football heartbreak
2024 In Review: We look at the second half of the year
2024 will be remembered as a year of politics. People in more than 60 countries (almost 50% of the world’s population) headed to the polls this year, from the UK to India to the US and beyond, politics dominated the news in 2024 and history was made.
Donald Trump was re-elected as US president – after almost being assassinated, the UK saw its first Labour Prime Minister back in No 10 after more than a decade of Conservative rule, whilst Mexico elected its first-ever female president.
War raged on across Europe and the Middle East and there have been a number of natural weather events making the headlines including Hurricane Helene across the US and the devastating flooding across Spain.
The Euros took place over the summer, as did the Paris Olympics marking another year of great sporting events.
In pop culture, Oppenheimer won big at the Oscars, and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour took over the world.
June – December
- June 5, 2024: Boeing’s Starliner is launched, and it docks at the ISS the next day; however, because of equipment issues, NASA later decides it is unsafe for astronauts to return on the spacecraft.
- June 18, 2024: NVIDIA briefly surpasses Microsoft to become the most valuable company in the world by market capitalisation.
- June 25, 2024: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange pleads guilty to U.S. charges of illegally obtaining and disclosing national security information. He is freed from a British prison and allowed to return to Australia.
- June 25, 2024: China’s lunar probe Chang’e 6 returns to Earth, it brings back the first samples from the far side of the Moon.
- June 27, 2024: Joe Biden and Donald Trump face off in the first presidential TV debate of 2024, and Biden’s disastrous performance dominates much of the global news for weeks to come.
- July 5, 2024: Keir Starmer becomes prime minister of the UK. He is the first Labour prime minister in over a decade.
- July 13, 2024: Donald Trump survives an assassination attempt after a gunman opens fire during a campaign event in Pennsylvania; Trump suffers a wound to his ear. The gunman is shot dead.
- July 14, 2024: Heartbreak for England who lost 2-1 to Spain in the Euro 2024 final – it’s the second European Championship final England have lost.
- July 21, 2024: After weeks of backlash, Joe Biden announces he’s dropping out of the presidential election. He endorses Harris to replace him.
- July 26, 2024: The Olympic Games begin in Paris.
- August 5, 2024: Bangladesh’s long-serving PM Sheikh Hasina Wazed flees amid mass protests against her government. Muhammad Yunus becomes interim leader.
- August 6, 2024: US Vice President Kamala Harris becomes the official Democratic presidential candidate. She is the first US black woman and the first Asian American to win the presidential nomination of a major party.
- August 30, 2024: Brazil bans X (Twitter) due to the widespread disinformation on the site. The ban is later lifted after X agrees to some requirements – including removing certain accounts.
- September 26, 2024: Hurricane Helene hits Florida, causing widespread destruction and killing more than 230 deaths across the region.
- October 1, 2024: Mexico elects its first female president as Claudia Sheinbaum is sworn in.
- October 29, 2024: Flooding hits Spain after heavy rainfall with around 200 people killed.
- November 5, 2024: Donald Trump wins the US presidential election. His victory marks the first convicted felon to be elected to office and the second president to win a non-consecutive term.
- November 12, 2024: Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigns amid criticism of his handling of child abuse allegations within the Church of England.
- November 19, 2024: Marks 1,000 days since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At least 30,000 Ukrainians have been killed.
- November 26, 2024: A ceasefire deal to end fighting between Hezbollah and Israel is announced.
- December 8, 2024: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is ousted after a surprise uprising by the rebels. Bashar flees to Russia, as Syria celebrates its freedom.
