What major international events are worth watching in 2025?

Here are some major events in the world in 2025 that are expected to attract the attention of many people.

Malaysia holds the chair of ASEAN 2025

Malaysia will hold the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN from January 1, 2025, succeeding Laos.At the closing ceremony of the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits and related summits in October 2024 in the Lao capital Vientiane, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim officially announced the logo and theme “Inclusiveness”. and sustainability” of ASEAN in 2025.

As ASEAN chair in 2025, Malaysia plans to host 300 ASEAN-related meetings, summits and programs, according to Bernama News Agency. In particular, the 46th ASEAN Summit will take place in May 2025. At that conference, ASEAN leaders are expected to adopt the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, according to the newspaper. Bangkok Post.

Mr. Trump took office as President of the United States

Mr. Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States in Washington DC on January 20, 2025. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to flock to the US capital on this day to attend and witness the event, according to WTTG Radio.

About 50% of hotels in Washington DC are booked for Trump’s inauguration week and this number is expected to increase to 94-97%.

Security plans have been implemented as President Joe Biden’s administration commits to a peaceful transition of leadership.

Early elections in Germany

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on December 27, 2024 dissolved the lower house of parliament to pave the way for early elections on February 23, 2025 after Prime Minister Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition collapsed, according to Reuters.

The parties have launched their election campaigns, with polls showing that Mr. Friedrich Merz, leader of the center-right CDU party, is likely to replace Mr. Scholz, of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

Polls also show that the CDU is leading (32%), followed by the far-right party AfD (19%) and SPD (15%), according to AFP. However, the mainstream parties have refused to govern with the AfD.

On security issues, both the CDU and the SPD want to continue helping Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. However, the CDU remains vague about which weapons to send to Kyiv, while the SPD opposes sending long-range missiles because “Germany and NATO should not become warring parties themselves,” according to AFP.

World Exhibition in Japan

Japan will host the third World Exhibition in the event’s 170-year history in 2025, expected to attract more than 20 million visitors from around the world, according to Kyodo News.

The exhibition is scheduled to take place from April 13, 2025 to October 13, 2025 on an artificial island in Osaka city. The Japanese government and private sector as well as a total of 161 countries and regions are among those planning to host exhibitions at the pavilions.

With the theme “Designing the Future Society for Our Lives”, the World Expo in Osaka is expected to be a showcase of cutting-edge technology from around the world, allowing for the sharing of ideas aimed at solve global problems.

Previously, Japan held the World Expo in 1970 in Osaka Prefecture and in 2005 in Aichi Prefecture.

Midterm elections in the Philippines

On May 12, 2025, an estimated 68 million Filipino voters will participate in the midterm elections to elect 12 senators, 317 representatives and 17,942 provincial governors, provincial council members, mayors and committee members. council member, according to the newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer.

In theory, the above Senate race is equivalent to a referendum on the incumbent president, but it would be more accurate to view it as an expression of the incumbent president’s control over the votes. political machine. Most of the winning Senate candidates had the backing of the president, according to the newspaper The Convergence.

Surveys show that Senate candidates favored by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Backers can win up to 9-10 of the 12 open positions. This will be very important for President Marcos as he needs to consolidate power amid disagreement with Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

FIFA Club World Cup 2025

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is expected to take place in the US from June 15 to July 13, with 32 clubs participating. The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will be historic because it is an expanded format tournament, with 32 teams participating, up from the previous 7 teams.

From 2025, the new FIFA Club World Cup will take place every 4 years, held in the country that will host the FIFA World Cup finals the following year. The old FIFA Club World Cup will be replaced by the “FIFA International Cup” (roughly translated as Intercontinental Cup), which will still take place every year in a very quick format.

The first G20 summit in Africa

On November 19, 2024, South Africa took over the G20 presidency from Brazil, becoming the first African country to lead the group of 19 leading economies in the world with the European Union (EU). The one-year term officially begins on December 1, 2024.

“South Africa has adopted the theme “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability” for its G20 presidency,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasized on December 3, 2024.

The culmination of the G20 presidency is the G20 Summit taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa in November 2025. This conference will adopt a declaration reflecting the common views of the G20 countries and the joint actions they will take to address the world’s most important challenges, according to Mr. Ramaphosa.

Mr. Ramaphosa emphasized: “The G20 presidency is a valuable opportunity for South Africa to promote efforts towards greater global economic growth and sustainable development.”

President Ramaphosa added that there will be more than 130 meetings held in South Africa during the year the country holds the G20 presidency. “Tens of thousands of people from nearly 30 countries and representatives from more than 20 regional and international organizations will come to South Africa during our G20 presidency,” Mr. Ramaphosa predicted.