The world is "in a state of cautious optimism", according to the Ipsos Predictions Survey 2025. Only 65% of respondents in the 33-country study said they thought 2024 was a bad year for their country: the lowest figure since 2019. An even higher number, 71%, said they were optimistic 2025 would be better. Here are the factors that could make or break the year ahead.

Trump 2.0
Trump has claimed he will end the war between Ukraine and Russia, and help secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But his unpredictability and his threats of a trade war could exacerbate existing geopolitical tensions and alienate former allies.

His "America First" isolationism will "have friends and foes alike questioning the solidity of America's alliances", which could lead to "heightened tensions and even nuclear proliferation", said Tom Standage, editor of The Economist's World Ahead 2025.

Syria
In Syria, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that toppled Assad can "talk the talk", saying what Washington and Europe "want to hear", Dana Stroul, a former senior Defense Department official, told NBC News. In 2025, they will have to "walk the walk".

After five decades of brutal, dictatorial rule, the Syrian people "stand at a moment of history – and a moment of opportunity", UN Secretary-General António Guterres said earlier this month. "That opportunity cannot be missed."

Elections
If 2024 was the Year of Democracy, the biggest election year in history, then 2025 at least looks like a less hectic schedule. There will be elections in Australia and Canada, but Germany is the big one to watch, coming at a time of "deep economic crisis and geopolitical uncertainty" for Germany, said The Guardian. The result could be a strengthening of the far right as politicians fight to "lure voters who are disgruntled over the cost-of-living crisis and stagnation over Ukraine".

Technology
The artificial intelligence arms race is "upending companies, industries, and the way people live and work", said Quartz. AI is "the biggest gamble in business history", said Standage: more than $1 trillion is being spent on data centres to underpin the rapidly expanding technology – "even though companies are still not sure how to use it and adoption rates are low". Will investors lose their nerve, or will AI prove its worth?

Last year gave us such viral sensations as "Barbenheimer", the Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial, and Ariana DeBose's Bafta earworm (we were humming "Angela Bassett did the thing" for weeks). So what were the meme-able moments that brought the internet together in 2024?

Wonka-shambles
Attendees forked out up to £35 per ticket for "Willy's Chocolate Experience", an immersive experience in Glasgow supposedly inspired by the magical world of Roald Dahl's eccentric chocolatier. Instead, they got a barely decorated warehouse, staffed by actors who didn't seem to know why they were there either. The fiasco was social media catnip, with figures like the "sad Oompa Loompa" turned into fleeting viral stars. The camp chaos inspired an Edinburgh Fringe show and a recreation of the event in Los Angeles.

Raygun
The Paris Olympics themselves were rife with viral moments, but none more instantly infamous than Sydney's own Rachael "Raygun" Gunn. The then 36-year-old breakdancer became the indisputable sensation of Paris 2024 with a memorably quirky routine that included an all-too-brief imitation of a kangaroo. As well as entertaining millions around the world, Gunn's routine made her a target for critics, and in November, she announced her retirement from the sport – but said she would continue to dance for pleasure.

Kendrick vs. Drake
A diss war between Canadian pop rapper Drake and Compton wordsmith Kendrick Lamar was never going to go Drake's way – Lamar, after all, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning lyricist. Their lyrical feud reached its apogee with Lamar's "Not Like Us", a musical hatchet job which became the song of the summer. Having lost the verbal ballyhoo, Drake instead accused record label Universal Music of illicitly boosting the track on streaming services and radio.

Moo Deng
A baby pygmy hippo at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in southern Thailand who shot to viral stardom in September by being… well, very cute. The surge of global attention saw visitors flock to the zoo, which was also forced to defend itself after animal rights groups claimed Moo Deng's stardom glorified breeding animals into a "lifetime of confinement".

New Year's Eve Seafront Fireworks, Southend
The Essex coastal city is set to sparkle with a double display: its first-ever on the last day of the year. Both shows are free, and launched from a barge moored to the east of the pier – the world's longest leisure pier. At 6pm the first show will light up the night sky, then at midnight there is a second spectacle to usher in 2025. visitsouthend.co.uk

Fireworks Extravaganza, Manchester
Lantern installations, plus light tunnels and a laser garden, twinkle throughout 6.5 acres of Mayfield Park, accompanied by a spectacular soundtrack from Craig Charles. Hosted by Freight Island, the Manchester event includes fireworks and a disco party.
escapetofreightisland.com

Fishguard New Year's Eve Street Party
On the Pembrokeshire coast is Wales' most famous NYE street party, which this year is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Enjoy live music and dancing and an always great atmosphere, rounded off with a fireworks display as 2024 draws to a close. fishguardnye.co.uk

New Year's Eve fireworks, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Thrill to not one but two displays on the banks of the Tyne, catering for firecracker fans of all ages, featuring over 10,000 fireworks – and completely free. The first fireworks are at 6pm. For a more adult affair, head to the Quayside just before midnight for a second fireworks display against the magnificent backdrop of three iconic bridges. newcastleschristmas.com

Corporate claptrap and pointless meetings are dragging down productivity
Lucy Burton in The Telegraph
Let 2025 be the year managers "finally dump all corporate claptrap" and "get straight-talking", writes Lucy Burton. No wonder "productivity in this country is so abysmal" when so many workers spend "all day sat on pointless Zoom meetings". A recent study found that unnecessary meetings cost big companies "around $100 million a year". "Time is money. Pretending to be busy does neither the unproductive employer nor the bored-stiff employee any good."

AI does not mean the robots are coming
Robin Harding in the Financial Times
A future in which AI-powered robots can "perform all the work we do not want to", is "alluring", writes Robin Harding. But AI is about software rather than hardware, and "it is more practical to imagine how existing machines" like self-driving cars "will change once AI is applied to them". We might yearn for a robot that can "clean the toilet", but "sadly it is far easier to make one that writes bad poetry".

Church of England must open files for others to scrutinise
Sean O'Neill in The Times
Christmas is usually a good time for the Church of England, writes Sean O'Neill. "Not this year." The outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and his interim successor, Stephen Cottrell, face criticism over mishandled abuse cases. What the church needs is "the disinfectant of sunlight," and to be brought under the ambit of Freedom of Information legislation. If the church is "incapable of reforming itself", its files "should be opened for others to inspect, expose and point the way forward".