2010
- This article is about the year 2010. For other uses, see 2010 (disambiguation).
| Millennium: | 3rd millennium |
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2010 (MMX) will be a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. It will be the first year of the 2010s decade.
Pronouncing 2010 and subsequent years
- See also: Year pronunciation
Among experts and the general public, there is a debate as to how specific years of the 21st century should be pronounced in English. Although the majority of English-speakers say "two thousand (and) X" for any specific year post–1999, it is often suggested that the continuation of this type of pronunciation for the entire 21st century would be inappropriate or unnatural, given the alternative "twenty X" option.
Academics suggest that since former years such as 1805 and 1905 were commonly pronounced as "eighteen oh" or "nineteen oh" five, the year 2005 should naturally have been pronounced as "twenty oh-five".[1] Many experts agree that majority usage of "two thousand (and) X" is a result of influences from the Y2K hype, as well as the way "2001" was pronounced in the influential 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Many people, including linguistic and academic experts, predict that the "twenty X" pronunciation method will eventually prevail, but a timeframe as to when this change will occur often differs. The year 2010 is suggested by many[2][3], while 2011[1] and 2013 are popular as well. The latest timeframes for change are usually placed at 2020[1] or 2100.
According to a recent press release, David Crystal, author of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, has predicted that the change of pronunciation to "twenty X" will occur in 2011, as "twenty eleven", explaining that the way people pronounce years depends on rhythm, rather than logic. Crystal claims that the rhythm or "flow" of "two thousand (and) ten", beats out that of "twenty ten", but the flow of "twenty eleven" beats out "two thousand (and) eleven".[1] Alternatively, Ian Brookes, editor-in-chief of Chambers Dictionary, suggests the change will occur in 2013. And finally, the UK Times has suggested 2020 as a final timeframe for the change, saying "If people can have “twenty-twenty” vision, then surely they should also live in the year “twenty twenty”.[1] The team which organized the successful bid to host the Olympic Games of 2012 in London, styled the year they will hold the games as "twenty twelve". This appears to have been accepted with the British public.
In addition, some notable organizations are already switching to the "twenty" system. The favoured description for the 2010 Vancouver, Canada, Winter Olympic Games is stated as the "twenty ten" Winter Olympic Games, the 2010 FIFA World Cup is stated as the "twenty ten" FIFA World Cup, South Africa & the 2010 Commonwealth Games, India prefers the description of this Event as the "twenty-ten" Delhi Commonwealth Games, India.
Some suggest that after the "twenty X" pronunciation for current and future 21st century years has taken hold, future references to early 21st century years will change accordingly from the previous "two thousand (and) X" method; thus, they say, future generations will refer to the date of the 9/11 attacks in the United States as September 11, "twenty oh-one", just as 1911 was referred to as "nineteen hundred and eleven" at the time, but is now called "nineteen eleven".
Predicted and scheduled events
January
- January 1 — Croatia becomes the 28th member of European union.[4]
- January 1 — Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to establish and introduce monetary union.
- January 1 - Spain takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from Sweden.
- January 1 — Bulgaria, Estonia and Lithuania are set to adopt the euro.
- January 10 — Deadline for the America's Space Prize for private manned orbital spaceflight.
- January 15 — Annular solar eclipse (The longest lasting annular eclipse of the 21st century.)
February
- February 7 — Super Bowl XLIV will be played at Dolphin Stadium
- February 12–February 28 — 2010 Winter Olympics celebrated in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
March
- March 7–March 12 — 2010 International Congress of Actuaries scheduled in Cape Town, South Africa.
- March 12–March 21 — 2010 Winter Paralympics scheduled in Vancouver and Whistler Canada.
April
- April — International Space Station construction will be completed.
- April 1 — The Space Shuttle Discovery will launch from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center, beginning the Space Shuttle's final flight, STS-132.
- April 1 — U.S. National Census.
May
- May — The 55th Eurovision Song Contest will be held.
- May 1–October 30 — 2010 World's Fair in Shanghai.
- May 8 — 48th Costa Rica presidential election will be held to replace the President Óscar Arias Sánchez (ineligible for re-election).
- May 10 — Philippine presidential election will be held to replace the incumbent President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (ineligible for re-election).
- The 7th European Festival of Youth Choirs (EJCF) will be held in Basel, Switzerland.
June
- June 3 — This is the latest date the next UK general election can be held.
- June 6 — Conjunction between Jupiter and Uranus, Jupiter 28' south. First conjunction of triple conjunction Jupiter/Uranus.
- June 11 — Start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
- June 14–June 20 — the United States Golf Open 2010 is scheduled at Pebble Beach Golf Links.[5]
- June 30 — Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will end her nine-year term as President of the Philippines as the 15th Congress of the Philippines begins.
July
- July — Japanese House of Councillors Election.
- July 1 - Belgium takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from Spain.
- July 9 — The final Space Shuttle mission, STS-133, will launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
- July 11 — Total solar eclipse (visible only in the South Pacific (esp. Easter Island) and southern South America).
- July 11 — Final Match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup scheduled to play at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.
- July 11 — Opening of the XII WCTR (World Conference on Transportation Research), held by Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon.
- July 13 — Support will be cancelled for Microsoft Windows 2000, which was put on extended support in 2005.
August
- August 14–26 — The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics will be celebrated in Singapore.
- August 16 — FIBA World Basketball Championships will be held in Turkey.
- August 19–27 — The 26th International Congress of Mathematicians will be held in Hyderabad, India.
September
- September 11 — "Freedom Tower," the office building replacing the World Trade Center after its destruction on September 11, 2001 in New York, NY, will be completed.
- September 19 — Sweden general election, 2010: Sweden holds elections for the Riksdag.
- September 22 — Conjunction between Jupiter and Uranus, Jupiter 53' south. Second conjunction of triple conjunction Jupiter/Uranus.
October
- October 1 — Census in Japan
- October 3 — Brazilian presidential and parliamentary elections.
- October 3–14 — The 2010 Commonwealth Games will be held in Delhi, India.
- All-Russia population census.
November
- November 2 — Elections for the United States Congress
December
- December 21 — Total lunar eclipse
Unknown dates
- The Space Shuttle program will be retired by NASA and replaced by Project Constellation. This project will include new space vehicles called Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles, as well as the Orion capable of traveling to the Space Station, to the Moon, and eventually to Mars. (Sources: National Geographic, October 2007; Scientific American, October 2007.)
- The Chicago Spire will be completed. It will be the tallest building and freestanding structure in North America.
- Australia will cease analog television broadcasts.
- Australia will have phased out the incandescent light bulb.
- A general election will be held in Australia.
- General Motors will produce a commercially viable model of its concept car, the Hy-wire.
- Israel will complete its Security Barrier and will use it as the basis for the definitive border between Israel and a Palestinian state, according to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, as reported March 10 2006 by the Wall Street Journal and many other newspapers and other news media. All Israeli settlements not protected by the barrier will have been evacuated.
- Olmert's term in office ends in 2010 (if not earlier), and new elections will be held.
- The UK's analog TV Signal will be switched off in this year in favor of digital TV with HTV West and STV being the areas to switchover[6].
- NASA's Hubble Space Telescope will be deorbited.
- The World Lacrosse Championship will take place in Manchester, England
- The International Space Station will be completed.
- Croatia will join the European Union this year.
- 1300 year anniversary of transfer capital to Heijō-kyō, with anniversary festival at Nara, Japan.
- Central Florida Commuter Rail will begin operation, with full completion expected by 2013.
- MS Queen Elizabeth, a ship ordered by Cunard Line October 2007 will be finished. It will act as sister ship to MS Queen Victoria.
- The NASCAR Hall of Fame will be completed in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Major religious holidays
- February 1 — Imbolc, a Cross-quarter day (Celebrated on February 2 in some places)
- March 20 — Spring Equinox, also known as Ostara
- April 4 — Easter
- May 1 — Beltane, a Cross-quarter day
- August 1 — Lammas, a Cross-quarter day
- September 23 — Fall Equinox, also known as Mabon
- November 1 — Samhain, a Cross-quarter day and Neopagan new year
- November 16 - Eid al-Adha, a religious festival in Islam
- December 25 — Christmas
2010 in fiction and popular culture
Computer and video games
- Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, also known as Ace Combat: Squadron Leader (2004): War breaks out between Yuktobania and Osea in September, ending on New Year's Eve.
- Set in 2010: Uplink (2001)
- Set in 2010: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (2006)
- Set in 2010 (mostly): Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (2008), the first level of the game is set in 2005
- Set in 2010: Psychic Force (1996)
- Set in 2010: Street Fighter 2010 (1990)
- Set in 2010: Mega Man III
- Set in 2010: Dino Crisis 2 (2000)
Film
- Set in 2010: 2010 (1984)
- The target destination of Doc Brown in the original Back to the Future film.
- Set in 2010: I Am Legend.
- Set in 2010: The 2004 film Thunderbirds
Literature
- Set in 2010: 2010: Odyssey Two (1982) by Arthur C. Clarke.
- Set in 2010: In The Presence of Mine Enemies (2003) by Harry Turtledove.
- Set in 2010: The Mayflower Project (2001) by K.A. Applegate.
Music
- Pearl Jam's song "Do the Evolution" references the world in this year: "I crawled the earth, but now I'm higher. 2010, watch it go to fire."
- Bad Religion have a song titled "Ten in 2010" about this year on their album, The Gray Race.
- The Mint Chicks have a song titled "2010", which is their first song recorded as a 3 piece after the departure of bassist Mike in 2007. It is the b-side to the Walking Off A Cliff Again 7" vinyl, and will only feature on that format.
Television
- Eureka ("Once in a Lifetime," 2006): Stark is given the opportunity to investigate "the Artifact." After it is tested, time is warped to 2010 and the town is a very different place.
- Macross: The surface of the Earth is decimated in 2010 by the Zentradi in a final attack by the Zentradi, that also ends in the defeat of the Zentradi fleet due the operation Minmay Attack done as a counterattack by the humans.
- seaQuest DSV: In this show, the Florida Marlins win the World Series in 2010. Lucas Wolenczak wears a Marlins jersey with this notation during the show.
- The Simpsons : 2010 is the predicted death for Seymour Skinner. It is also the year that Lisa's Wedding takes place.
- Set in 2010:
- Knight Rider 2010 (1994 movie)
- The Simpsons ("Lisa's Wedding," 1995)
- Stargate SG-1 ("2010," 2001)
- The Transformers (1986–1987 season)
References
- ^ a b c d e Experts clash over millennium bugbear — UK Times
- ^ http://maxspeak.org/mt/archives/002457.html
- ^ The Naughty Noughties, or something
- ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/13/europe/EU-Croatia.php
- ^ http://www.usopen.com/future/ retrieved 14 June 2007
- ^ http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/en/when.html