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2008
Mirror of English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Years : | 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 |
| Centuries: | 20th Century · 21st century · 22nd century |
| Decades: | 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s |
| Years: | 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 |
| 2008 by topic: |
| News by month |
| Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec |
| Arts |
| Architecture - Art - Literature Music (Country, UK) - Film - Television - Home video |
| Politics |
| Elections - Int'l leaders - Politics - State leaders |
| Science and technology |
| Archaeology - Aviation - Birding/Ornithology Meteorology - Rail transport - Science |
| Sports |
| Sport - Tennis - Motor Racing Ice Hockey - Football (Soccer) - Baseball |
| By place |
| Africa - Argentina - Australia - Canada - Denmark India - Iraq - Ireland - Japan - Malaysia - Mexico New Zealand - Philippines - Singapore - South Africa Switzerland - Wales - Zimbabwe |
| Other topics |
| Deaths - Awards - Gay rights - Games - Law Religious leaders - Video gaming |
| Gregorian calendar | 2008 MMVIII |
| Ab urbe condita | 2761 |
| Armenian calendar | 1457 |
| Chinese calendar | 4704 – 4705 丁亥 – 戊子 |
| Hebrew calendar | 5768 – 5769 |
| Hindu calendars | |
| - Vikram Samvat | 2063 – 2064 |
| - Shaka Samvat | 1930 – 1931 |
| - Kali Yuga | 5109 – 5110 |
| Iranian calendar | 1386 – 1387 |
| Islamic calendar | 1429 – 1430 |
| Japanese calendar | unknown |
| Runic calendar | 2258 |
2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar.
- Is the year of the Rat in Chinese Astrology and is the year of Aries in Western Astrology.
Contents |
[edit]
Predicted events
- FIFA will announce the host country to celebrate the 2014 FIFA World Cup
- The FIA will introduce new regulations for the Formula 1 in order to reduce the costs and improve racing.
[edit]
January-April
- January 1 - 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.
- 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
- 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 - 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 23 - Easter Sunday. Easter has not fallen this early since 1913.
- April 5 to April 7 - NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four to be held at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
- 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.
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May-August
- 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.
- June 8 - NASA's Pluto probe New Horizons will cross the orbit of Saturn, after 2½ years journey. The Voyagers spend 3 to 4 years to get to Saturn.
- June 14 - Expo 2008 scheduled to begin in Zaragoza, Spain.
- June 28 - Schedule remodeling of White House
- June - UEFA Euro 2008 Championship tournament. Joint hosts Switzerland and Austria.
- July 15 to July 20 - World Youth Day 2008 in Homebush, Sydney, Australia
- July 16 - The 20th anniersary of the anime, Akira (film).
- 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 8 - 2008 Summer Olympics scheduled to begin in Beijing, China
- August 15 - One decade on from the 1998 Omagh Bombing in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
- August - World Congress on Philosophy in Seoul, the capital of South Korea
[edit]
September-December
- September 11 - Tentative topping-out of Freedom Tower at World Trade Center site.
- 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 26 - If still Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair will surpass Margaret Thatcher's length of time in office.
- December 31 - In Italy, probably last date of analogic TV's transmission after 54 years (VHF, UHF) as totally started Digital terrestrial television era.
[edit]
Unknown dates
- The Indian Space Research Organization plans human spaceflight.
- The United Nations is to review drug policies around the world. [1] [2]
- 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
- Forecasted year of worldwide production decline in oil given by the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas
- Forecasted year of OPEC oil production exceeding non-OPEC oil production given by "The Peak Of World Oil Production And The Road To The Olduvai Gorge" by Richard C. Duncan
- The United Kingdom plans to begin 5-year process to cease analog television broadcasts region-by-region, starting with Border, Westcountry and HTV Wales.
- Boeing's 787 aircraft will enter service.
- The Rugby League World Cup will be held in Australia.
- Australia plans to cease analogue television broadcasts.
- The Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino will be completed
- 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.
- Eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Faith No More, Madonna, Metallica, Pantera, R.E.M., Slayer, The Smiths, Violent Femmes
[edit]
Fiction
- According to Capcom, the year "200X" in which Mega Man 2 takes place is 2008.
- Twisted Metal 3, made in 1998 takes place in this year.
- Sam Fisher(Splinter Cell)'s daughter, Sarah Fisher, dies.
- In the computer game Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, Russia attempts to reunite the Soviet Union and invades several Eastern European countries. The UN intervenes with Peace-Keeping Forces.
- In the WB series finale Dawson's Creek, this is the year when the characters meet once again. According to the storyline, John Mayer will be on tour (Since the character Joey Potter declaims the character Audrey Lidell is touring with John Mayer as a back up singer). Also, there will be a series called "The Creek" based on character Dawson Leery's life (Basically is a "Dawson's Creek" inside the show called "The Creek"); it also is established that there will be a McDonald's on Hudsons already (on the show's fictitious Capeside, MA)
- In commemoration of Ian Fleming's 100th birthday this year, Ian Fleming Publications has announced the publication of a new James Bond novel, to be written by a noted author. As of January 2006, no further details of this project have been released. This will be the first novel published featuring the adult version of Bond since 2002.
- The science fiction film Silent Running takes place in 2008.
- The events of the 1992 dystopian science fiction film Split Second, starring Rutger Hauer take place.
| Preceded by: 2007 | Years 2008 | Succeeded by: 2009 |
