Do you remember what happened in the world this past year? If not, let’s go for a throwback of the year 2023.
We begin on Jan. 1 when Croatia became the 20th member of the eurozone and adopted
the euro (€), foregoing the kuna (kn) 10 years after the country joined the European union. Goranko Fizulic, the ex-economy minister of Croatia said: “We now have a currency that’s safe and stable, and we don’t need a reserve currency anymore.”
On March 14 began the much-awaited Eras Tour. In 2019, Taylor Swift lost the rights to her first six albums because her previous record label, Big Machine Records, was sold to Scooter Braun, a music manager, who then owned all the rights to her music from those albums. So, Swift decided to re-record the albums: “Taylor Swift” (2006), “Fearless” (2008), “Speak Now” (2010), “Red” (2012), “1989” (2014), and lastly “Reputation” (2017), which, the release date has not been officially announced for. After, she started a world tour in which she sings some of her songs from each of the albums. The Eras Tour comes to a close in Vancouver on Dec. 8, 2024.
On May 6, Charles III became the King of the United Kingdom. Almost one year after
Queen Elisabeth II passed away, Charles III and Camila Rosemary Shand became King and Queen consort of the United Kingdom. The ceremony was held at Westminster Abbey in London, then followed by the carriage drive to Buckingham Palace where they waved their citizens on the balcony with all the members of the Royal Family. It is estimated that the ceremony was watched by an audience of approximately 400 million people worldwide.
Buckingham Palace. Photo Credit: Canva
In July, Twitter became “X.” The businessman Elon Musk bought and rebranded the popular social media platform. The application had several problems in recent years, including allegations of censorship and abuse. Musk has said that he wants to make X a more “free speech friendly” platform, and the name change could be seen to distance the platform from its past. Who knows what the platform will look like in the coming future.
On August 31, a building caught fire in Johannesburg. In South Africa, the police have arrested a man (whose name is unknown) who confessed to having caused the fire after a drug dispute that led him to strangle a man and set the body alight. This fire caused the death of 77 people and 88 people were injured. South Africa is known for the most fire accident, and this event is one of the biggest that people had to deal with in this country.
The Rugby World Cup began on Sept. 8 and ended on Oct. 28. The winner of this tournament was South Africa followed by New-Zealand and England. The host country, France, lost at quarterfinals against South Africa.
Photo Credit: GTAGFX
Good news for gamers: Rockstar Games surprised their fans because they released the first trailer of GTA 6 on Dec. 4. The game was very much awaited after GTA 5, which came out in 2013. The game will be available in 2025 on Xbox Series X & S and PlayStation 5.
As you can see, major events happened this year, and there is a lot to look forward to and keep your eyes on in 2024.
Oona Ngabonziza, Reporter and Distribution Coordinator
(Featured Image by Taylor Swift Productions)