Events to Shake, or Gently Rattle, the World in 2021

This is an article from Turning Points, a special section that explores what critical moments from this year may mean for the year ahead.

Last year’s global itinerary, published in December 2019, looked forward to sundry worldwide events that were expected to shape 2020: in Tokyo, the most costly Summer Olympics in history; in Dubai, the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East; in Brussels, a 75-meter-long “flower carpet” made with over 500,000 blossoms.

Boy, did we get it wrong. As the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe, health regulations and travel restrictions prohibited large group gatherings in most countries, forcing many events to be canceled or postponed until 2021.

And yet…