January
Literary Anniversary of the Year
Charles Dickens Bicentenary
Expect the greatest English novelist of the 19th century to be the subject of innumerable Dickens lit-fests and exhibitions throughout the year.
Dickens 2012 is an international celebration of his life and works, marking the bicentenary of his birth on February 7, 1812. It includes the largest retrospective ever staged of his filmed novels at the BFI on London’s Southbank, starting this month (before going on a world tour), and the first major exhibition on the writer for more than 40 years, Dickens and London (Museum of London until June 10). His birthplace, Portsmouth, is also holding a year-long programme of activities to celebrate its most famous son.
And don’t overlook the £62 million themed attraction Dickens World in Chatham, Kent. The great man himself might have raised a bushy eyebrow at Europe’s longest indoor boat ride – the Great Expectations log flume – but it’s a novel way of introducing new generations to a Victorian writer.
www.dickens2012.org
Need to know No other British novelist has had more of his or her works made into feature films – including multi-Oscar-winning musical Oliver! – and TV and radio dramas.
April 15
Most Unavoidable Centenary
Titanic
You know that sinking feeling that no matter where you turn or what you do, you just won’t be able to avoid a certain anniversary? Well, the most famous passenger ship of all time is about to surface yet again, 100 years after she sank – riding a tidal surge of books, documentaries and new TV dramas.
More than 100 new Titanic titles or editions are already on sale on Amazon (our personal favourite is the Haynes Owners’ Workshop Manual, complete with cutaway deck plans). Also look out for Julian Fellowes’ four-part ITV Titanic drama in April – unfairly described as ‘Downton Abbey, but with water pouring through the windows’. And, no, the Earl of Grantham and Carson the butler are not sharing a lifeboat.
Need to know In the inquests that followed the sinking, many more acts of heroism and self-sacrifice were recorded than incidents of cowardice.
Spring 2012
Most Welcome Return of a Historic Landmark
The Cutty Sark, Greenwich
When the world’s last and fastest tea clipper, in dry dock in Greenwich since 1954, was consumed by flames nearly five years ago, residents mourned the apparent demise of the defining image of their area. Now the elegant merchant vessel, built in 1869 in Scotland, has been restored to her former glory and will open again to visitors. Keep ducking if you visit: crew were shorter back then.
www.cuttysark.org.uk
Need to know The name Cutty Sark is Scots vernacular for a short chemise or undergarment, not that either are much in evidence on the figurehead – a bare-breasted young witch called Nannie from a Robert Burns poem.
May 19 - July 27
Most Inspirational Mass- participation Event of the Year
The Olympic Torch Relay
Eight thousand torchbearers will carry the Olympic Torch over 8,000 miles through more than 1,000 cities, towns and villages in the UK over a period of 70 days. The bearers are ‘inspirational’ people who have been nominated for making a difference in their local communities. Each will carry the torch for 300 metres – and they don’t have to run. Get out there and cheer them on!
www.london2012.com/olympic-torch-relay
Need to know
The relay route has been carefully planned so that the torch will come within 10 miles of 95% of people in the UK.
June 2 - 5
Biggest Royal Occasion of the Year
The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
Celebrations include a Big Jubilee Lunch, a pageant on the Thames, a concert at Buckingham Palace and the lighting of 2,012 beacons across the country. The National Portrait Gallery touring exhibition, The Queen: Art and Image, of 60 images spanning her reign arrives in Cardiff in Feb and reaches London in May.
www.direct.gov.uk/diamondjubilee
June 21 - September 9
Most Popular Cultural Celebration
The Cultural Olympiad culminating in the London 2012 Festival
This nationwide series of events and activities reaches its climax in a festival starting from June 21 – the UK’s biggest ever – a chance for everyone to celebrate London 2012 through dance, music, theatre, the visual arts, film and digital innovation. If you haven’t heard of it yet, you soon will. Who could fail to take notice of a gigantic Lady Godiva marionette making her stately way down the A45 from Coventry to the capital in late July? Or the hand-crocheted nine-metre long lions taking shape in the East Midlands?
www.london2012.com/cultural-olympiad
Need to know Fashion designer Zandra Rhodes is working with students from Coventry University to create
a corset and gown for the 10-metre tall Lady Godiva. Clothing??
July 27 – August 12
Biggest Sporting Event of the Year
The London 2012 Olympic Games
What is there left to say? It’s here, it’s happening, and the eyes of the world will be upon us. The London mayoral election takes place two months beforehand, and Bob Crow has recently been re-elected unopposed as general secretary of the country’s biggest transport workers’ trade union. What could possibly go wrong?
Need to know Only one world city has hosted the modern Olympics three times: London – in 1908, 1948 and 2012.
July 28 - August 11
Bravest Competing Attraction to The Olympics
The Great Exhibition 2012
Designed to recreate the patriotic fervour of the original Great Exhibition in 1851 and the Festival of Britain in 1951, this event is a showcase for Britain’s industries and creative talents, and sets out to celebrate our culture, history and society in a two-week festival, hosted by the city of Peterborough. Taking place at the same time as a certain sporting event, it might prove a welcome distraction. Meanwhile, visit the website to take part in the biggest- ever vote on what makes Britain great.
www.thegreatexhibition2012.co.uk
Need to know
The Great Exhibition of 1851 was visited by six million people – a third of the population at the time.
August
Most Unavoidable Half-centenary of the Death of a Hollywood Legend
Marilyn Monroe
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe’s death on August 5, 1962. Unimaginably, she would now be 86 had she lived. Most people over 55 will remember where they were when they heard the news about the world’s most famous film star, as they will recall hearing of the death soon after of President John F Kennedy – widely believed to have been one of her many lovers. Prepare yourselves for the inevitable deluge of books, previously unseen images, and more endless conspiracy theories. On the plus side, there’ll be another opportunity to catch Some Like It Hot – still one of the best film comedies ever made.
Need to know The first time the former Norma Jeane Baker signed an autograph as Marilyn Monroe she asked where to put the ‘i’ in Marilyn.
August 29 - September 9
Best Sporting Spectacle
The 2012 Paralympic Games
Inevitably eclipsed by the world’s biggest sporting event taking place just a few weeks before it, the Paralympics get our vote for the best sporting spectacle of the year. Not only is Great Britain expected to be among the front-runners in the medals table, but there is actually a reasonable chance of getting one of the estimated 1.5 million tickets on sale.
www.london2012.com/paralympic-sport
Need to know
In the past three Paralympic Games, Great Britain has never finished lower than second in the medal table.
Late 2012
The Most Eagerly Awaited Museum Opening of the Year
The Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth
The hull of the painstakingly preserved Tudor warship that sank in 1545 will finally be on display in an impressive new home in Portsmouth, along with a fascinating collection of artefacts recovered from the wreck. It’s difficult to describe just how important this is in terms of maritime archaeology. Trust us, it’s way ahead of the Titanic.
www.maryrose.org
Need to know
The recovery and restoration of the Mary Rose is one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of marine salvage.