As the world rang in the new decade a year ago, few would have guessed that the coming 12 months would be dominated by the battle against a virus that would claim more than 1.5 million lives.
Yet by early March, almost every facet of daily life had been turned on its head as Covid-19 spread through communities in countries worldwide.
And the most devastating pandemic since the Spanish flu has provided a backdrop for other global events that in any other year would have commanded the headlines. To find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to all the big news over the past year, take our quiz of the year:
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Need a reminder of the other events of 2020?
In addition to the coronavirus crisis, the UK has faced widespread flooding that affected vast swathes of the country; Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocking the world by “stepping down” from royal duties; and Westminster becoming embroiled in a string of scandals.
And to top it all off, Britain has also been gearing up to formally leave the EU on 31 December 2020.
Events further afield have been equally turbulent, with Donald Trump beginning what would be his final year in office by almost starting World War Three following the surprise assassination of an Iranian general.
On the political front, after becoming only the third US president in history to be impeached, Trump was aquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate - but subsequently failed to convince voters that he deserved a second term in the White House.
But in true Trump style, the incumbent refused to accept his November loss at the ballot box to his Democratic rival Joe Biden.
The US presidential election followed months of unrest triggered by the killing of George Floyd at the hands of the police. Floyd died after an officer kneeled on his neck during an arrest in May, kickstarting one of the largest global protest movements seen in decades.
Warnings about climate change have been another key theme of the year, after one of the largest bushfires in history destroyed tens of million acres of land in Australia. An unusually intense wildfire season also struck the western US, incinerating land across the states of California, Oregon and Washington.
With US President-elect Biden pledging to rejoin the Paris climate deal, environmental campaigners are hoping for a brighter future, however.
