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2012 Economic
turmoil continues
The
Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II In June, there is an extra public holiday in the UK. An event is staged in London which includes a concert produced by singer-songwriter Gary Barlow, formerly of Take That. A maritime parade of boats and events takes place along the River Thames, in which up to 1,000 boats take part (the largest flotilla to be seen on the river in 350 years) and a million people watch from the riverside.* Street parties take place around the country. Queen Victoria, in 1897, is thus far the only other monarch in the histories of Britain, Canada and a few other Commonwealth realms to have celebrated a Diamond Jubilee.
Euro
2012 is held in Poland and Ukraine
London
hosts the Olympic Games
Mars
Science Laboratory explores the Red Planet The mission has four goals:
Windows
8 is released*
Quad-core smartphones and tablets
Nintendo
launches the Wii U
The world's first 1-Gigawatt offshore wind farm Off the southeastern coast of England, construction of the largest ever offshore wind farm is underway. Known as the London Array, it will supply enough power for 750,000 homes - a quarter of all those in London.* With a total of 341 turbines, it will reduce carbon emissions by nearly 2 million tonnes per year, an important milestone in the government's plan to cut emissions by 80% by 2050. Offshore wind power is growing rapidly in Britain. Numerous other large-scale wind farms will be constructed in the coming decades - greatly reducing the country's dependence on foreign energy and creating thousands of new jobs in the green industry.
The Abraj Al-Bait Towers are completed in Mecca Also known as the Mecca Royal Hotel Clock Tower, this becomes the second tallest building in the world, behind the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.* It is made up of seven different towers, with the Hotel Tower, the tallest, soaring to a height of 601m (1,972 ft). Built by the Saudi Binladin Group, Saudi Arabia's largest construction company, it has cost over $15 billion and taken almost eight years to complete. Along with its place among the world's tallest, Abraj Al-Bait now holds the record of largest habitable floor area at 16,150,000 square feet (1,500,000 sq m). The hotel tower and its signature clock also hold the records for tallest hotel, tallest clock tower and largest clock face. It is built to model the Islamic architecture of the old city and is located adjacent to the mosque Masjid al-Haram, Islam's most holy site and home to the Kaaba. The Abraj Al-Bait complex serves to accommodate the enormous numbers of pilgrims and worshippers visiting the site. This eases certain stresses on the city during the Hajj when millions of Muslims arrive as part of the pilgrimage. The towers are able to hold up to 100,000 people, with a large prayer room capable of holding up to 10,000. The complex also boasts a five-story shopping mall, heliports, residential areas, conference and business rooms, an Islamic Museum and a lunar observatory used to sight the Moon during holy months. The tower sparked a global outcry during its development, however. The site was previously occupied by the historic Ajyad Fortress, an Ottoman castle built in 1781, and this was demolished to make way for its construction.* The new tower receives further criticism for its dominating stature over the rest of the city and its out of place modern appearance.*
The Mayan calendar reaches the end of its
current cycle This date has generated enormous publicity, with many predicting the end of the world, or a transformative event of some kind. This is despite no record of the Mayans themselves believing that any such event would occur. The media plays a huge role here, whipping up a frenzy of speculation. Though mostly tongue-in-cheek, it is enough to influence many gullible and/or vulnerable people. Various threats are debated: from a polar reversal of the Earth, to a global computer crash, runaway climate disaster or other cataclysm. On some talk shows, even the second coming of Christ is predicted. There are numerous pranks on the Internet and elsewhere, creating further confusion and paranoia during this time. Some people engage in panic buying of food, or build shutters and barricades around their homes. Others spend their entire life savings to enjoy one "last day" before the end of the world. A small minority of people become involved in more serious activity. For these troubled individuals, it becomes almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. In their misguided belief that the world will actually end, they resort to extreme or illegal behaviour, putting themselves and others at risk. Consequently, there is a brief spike in the number of murders, rapes, accidents and suicides worldwide. Of course, for the vast majority of rational people, the date passes without incident - and life continues as normal on 22nd December.*
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References 1 Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant: 2 UEFA Euro 2012, Wikipedia: 3 Windows 8 Plans Leaked: Numerous Details Revealed, Microsoft
Kitchen: 4 Samsung Galaxy S3 to be quad-core mind blower?, techradar: 5 iPhone 5 rumours: what you need to know, techradar: 6 Wii 2, Wikipedia: 7 World's largest offshore wind farm to be built off Kent coast, DailyMail.co.uk: 8 World's Tallest Buildings 2012, SkyscraperPage: 9 Saudis hit back over Mecca castle, BBC: 10 Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat: 11 2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won't End?, NASA:
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