2008
| Centuries: | 20th century · 21st century · 22nd century |
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| Years: | 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 |
| 2008 by topic |
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2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. It has been designated the International Year of Planet Earth.[1]
Predicted events
- Is the year of the Rat (zodiac) in Chinese Astrology and is the year of Aries in Western Astrology.
- Karlsruhe, Germany is set to host the European Juggling Convention EJC 2008.
- FIFA will announce the host country of the 2014 FIFA World Cup
- The FIA will introduce new regulations for the Formula 1 in order to reduce the costs and improve racing.
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's third runway is expected to open.
- Honda will introduce first commercially available Hydrogen Vehicle
- Building for the new Liverpool Arena should be completed.
- Republic of Ireland will introduce a postal code system.
- China will host the Olympics.
January-April
- Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia and Malta set to adopt the Euro. Slovenia will start the presidency of European Union as the first of new member states.
- Russia will be composed of 84 federal subjects instead of 85 as Ust-Orda Buryatia is merged into Irkutsk per a 2006 referendum.
- January 15 - NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft makes its first of three flybys of Mercury at 200 km altitude, to decrease velocity enough to a 2011 orbit insertion.
- January 20 - Scheduled parliamentary elections in the Faroe Islands
- January 20 - Scheduled opening ceremony of the 2008 African Cup of Nations to be held in Ghana.
- February 1 - Sweden plans to cease analog television broadcasts
- February 3 - Super Bowl XLII to be held in Glendale, Arizona.
- February 7 - Annular solar eclipse
- February - 50th annual Daytona 500 to be held at Daytona Beach, Florida
- February 21 - Total lunar eclipse - North and South America
- February - The 2008 NBA All-Star game is to be played in New Orleans, the first year the New Orleans Hornets are expected to return full time to New Orleans.
- March - 2008 presidential election to be held in Taiwan.
- March - Spain general election, 2008: Spain holds elections for the General Courts
- March 23 - Easter Sunday. Easter has not fallen this early since 1913.
- April - Washington Nationals' new ballpark expected to open.
- April 5-April 7 - NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four to be held at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
- April 17 - NASA is scheduled to launch Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-125, the fifth and final mission to refurbish the Hubble Space Telescope. It will also be the final Space Shuttle mission that does not involve Space Station construction, barring any STS-300-series rescue missions.
- April - Some Rastas believe that Haile Selassie will be resurrected due to the belief that he will rise after 33.3 years, the approximate age of Jesus when he died.
May-August
- May (unknown date) - UEFA Champions League Final to be held in Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow.
- May 11 - Mother's Day
- May 11 - Implementation of the controversial US legislation Real ID act
- May 12 - Cassini Spacecraft is set to orbit within 100 km of Enceladus, its closest encounter of the sixth largest moon of Saturn.
- May 16 - Presidential election slated in the Dominican Republic.
- May 20 - President Chen Shui-bien scheduled to step down after eight years as President of Taiwan, officially referred to as the Republic of China.
- May 25 - The Colón Theatre is set to re-open on its 100-year anniversary after 2 years of extensive repairments.
- June 8 - NASA's Pluto probe New Horizons will cross the orbit of Saturn, after 2½ years journey. The Voyagers spent 3 to 4 years to get to Saturn.
- June 14 - Expo 2008 scheduled to begin in Zaragoza, Spain.
- June 28 - Scheduled remodeling of White House
- June - UEFA Euro 2008 Championship tournament. Joint hosts Switzerland and Austria.
- July 15-July 20 - World Youth Day 2008 in Homebush, Sydney, Australia
- July 31 - Bill Gates is stepping down from daily duties at the Microsoft Corporation after over 3 decades.
- August 1 - Total solar eclipse: northern Canada, Siberia, Mongolia, northern China
- August 2-August 10 - The 31st European Juggling Convention (EJC) will be held in Karlsruhe, Germany
- August 2-August 9 - The National Eisteddfod of Wales will be held in Cardiff, South Wales
- August 8 - 2008 Summer Olympics scheduled to begin in Beijing, China
- August - World Congress on Philosophy in Seoul, the capital of South Korea
September-December
- September 11 - Tentative topping-out of Freedom Tower at World Trade Center site exactly seven years to the date of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
- October 3 - Possible date for the mayor and municipal council elections in Brazilian municipalities.
- October 6 - NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft makes the second of three flybys of Mercury.
- November 4 - Presidential election slated in the United States to elect the 44th President of the United States.
- November 4 - Gubernatorial election slated in Puerto Rico to elect the Governor of the island.
- November 15 - The last possible date for a General Election in New Zealand
- December 26 (approximate) - Opening of the Valley Metro Light Rail System in Phoenix, Arizona.
- December 30 (approximate) - Completion of the Burj Dubai, the world's tallest man-made structure, in Dubai.
Unknown dates
- The U2 Tower, potentially Ireland's tallest building, opens its doors some time in 2008.
- The Indian Space Research Organization plans human spaceflight.
- The United Nations is to review drug policies around the world. [2] [3]
- Both Liverpool (England) and Stavanger (Norway) are European Capital of Culture
- The ECB is expected to issue a new series of euro banknotes, replacing the old series, and should include new security features along with the incorporation of Cyprus on the EU map.
- Tentative year for the completion of the Burj Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and the International Business Center in Seoul, South Korea
- The United Kingdom plans to begin 5-year process to cease analog television broadcasts region-by-region, starting with Border [4].
- Boeing's 787 aircraft will enter service.
- The Rugby League World Cup will be held in Australia.
- The Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino will be completed in Las Vegas.
- The 178-metre high Singapore Flyer is expected to be completed in the first quarter and could become the tallest observation wheel in the world.
- Peru will host the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
- A vaccine to wipe out the virus that causes cervical cancer is expected to be ready this year.
- The Palm, Jumeirah, part of the Palm Islands development, is expected to be completed this year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
- Singapore Changi Airport's Terminal 3 is due to be completed in this time frame.
- The Space Shuttle Atlantis will be retired by NASA and used to supply replacement parts for the Space Shuttles Discovery and Endeavour.
- The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 will take place in the winning country of the 2007 edition at some point in May.
- The New York Mets will play their final game in Shea Stadium at some point in late September or October.
- The New York Yankees will play their final game at Yankee Stadium ever at some point in late September or October.
- The nation of Belize must hold a general election before the end of this year.
- The Westfield London shopping mall will open.
- The Avenue of the Saints, a 4-lane expressway conecting St. Louis, Missouri and St. Paul, Minnesota is scheduled to be complete.
- The Marquette Interchange of Milwaukee, Wisconsin that joins I-94, I-43, and I-794 is going to complete a $810 Million dollar reconstruction of the of the interchange that is going to be completed sometime in December.
Major religious holidays
- February 1 - Imbolc, a Cross-quarter day (Celebrated on February 2 in some places).
- March 20 - March Equinox, also known as Ostara.
- May 1 - Beltane, a Cross-quarter day.
- June 20 - June Solstice, also known as Midsummer or Litha.
- August 1 - Lammas, a Cross-quarter day.
- September 22 - September Equinox, also known as Mabon.
- November 1 - Samhain, a Cross-quarter day and Neopagan new year.
- December 21 - December Solstice, also known as Yule.
2008 in fiction
Computer and video games
- Ghost Recon (2001): Russia attempts to reunite the Soviet Union and invades several Eastern European countries. The UN intervenes with peacekeeping forces.
- Splinter Cell series: Sam Fisher's daughter Sarah Fisher is killed by a drunk driver.
- Shattered Union US President David Jefferson Adams is elected in a Sham election, and becomes the most unpopular president in U.S history.
- Set in 2008:
- Mega Man 2 (1989)
- Twisted Metal 3 (1998)
Films
- Jason X (Friday the 13th series, 2002): Mass murderer Jason Voorhees is cryogenically frozen.
- Set in 2008: Silent Running (1971), Southland Tales (2006)
Television
- Oliver the Great Western Engine will return to the Thomas the Tank Engine TV Series
- Dawson's Creek (2003 series finale): The characters meet once again. Dawson is creator of a television series, The Creek, based on his life.
- Futurama (1999 episode "Space Pilot 3000"): Suicide booths are invented.
- Home Movies (TV series) (1999 episode "Home Movies" are in my camera.