2020
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2020 (MMXX) will be a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.
Pronunciation
- See also: Year pronunciation
Among experts and the general public, there is a debate as to how specific years of the 21st century, including 2020, 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.
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. Experts also 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 people, ranging from linguistic and academic experts to Internet bloggers, 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 timeframe for change is 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 will occur in 2011, to "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. 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]
In addition, the Vancouver olympics, taking place in 2010, are being officially referred to by Vancouver 2010 as "the twenty-ten olympics", and the London olympics, taking place in 2012, are also being officially referred to by London 2012 as "the twenty-twelve olympics". Chicago 2016, which operates the official Chicago bid for the 2016 games, refers to the "twenty-sixteen games".
Scheduled events
- March — Yahoo! Inc.'s 25th birthday; opening of the Yahoo! Time Capsule.
- June — European Football Championship
- October 31 — Halloween, on a full moon
- November 3 — Presidential election and 117th Congressional election in the United States
Confirmed but unscheduled events
The following events will happen in 2020, but haven't been scheduled yet.
- XXXII summer Olympic Games to be held
- Last nuclear power plant in Germany to be shut down
- Schapelle Corby to be released from prison for drug trafficking in Indonesia
Anniversaries]
- August 26 — 100th anniversary of the U.S. Suffragist victory, confirming the right of female citizens to vote under the 19th Amendment of the United States Constitution
Predicted or expected events
The following events are predicted or expected to happen in 2020.
General predictions
- British newspaper The Guardian published a series of magazines in September 2004 predicting life in 2020
- Mapping the Global Future: Report of the National Intelligence Council's 2020 Project was published in December 2004 with a long-term view of the future. The NIC is the center for midterm and long-term strategic thinking within the US Government.
- In Australia, Queensland is expected to overtake Victoria as the second most populous state of the nation.
Space
- According to current plans and workings for Project Constellation, NASA should be returning Humans to the Moon by 2020.
- The Russian Federal Space Agency says that they plan to be mining helium-3 from the moon by this year.
- Earliest year that power aboard the space probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 is expected to terminate (though either probe may function past this date).
- NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is expected to fly beyond Pluto and Charon to the Kuiper Belt Objects.
Military
- Future Force Warrior to be phased into United States armed forces.
- According to military analyst Thomas W. Chittum, 2020 is a likely date for the beginning of Civil War II in the United States, most probably, he predicts, in Compton due to a white gang called superfly and where, he believes, Chicano activists will declare an independent republic of Aztlan.
Politics
- Predicted proclamation of Malaysia as a developed country, under the Wawasan 2020 plan initiated by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
- India's 2020 Vision of becoming a developed, powerful, world superpower and an influential national-state is expected to be fulfilled.
- The People's Republic of China has stated it intends to take back Taiwan under Chinese rule at latest by 2020. The country is also predicted to become the world's largest economy by this time.
Construction
- Completion of restoration works to the Forbidden City in the People's Republic of China.
- Completion of the National Trunk Highway System in the People's Republic of China.
- Completion of the construction of the Second Avenue Line of the New York City Subway.
- Completion of the urban revitalization of downtown Lisbon, Portugal.
Technology
- Artificial intelligence researcher and transhumanist Raymond Kurzweil, predicts that computers will have the raw computational capacities equivalent to the human brain.
2020 in fiction
Comics
- Comics set in 2020:
- 2020 Visions (1997–1998)
- Iron Man 2020
- Superman 2020
Computer and video games
- Games set in 2020:
- Command and Conquer: Generals (2003)
- Perfect Dark Zero (2005)
- Super Baseball 2020 (1991)
- TimeSplitters (2000) (the Planet X mission)
- Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception (2006)
- TMNT: Turtles in Time IV (Neon Night Riders) (1991)
- Crysis (2007)
- Keitai Denjū Telefang (2000)
Film
- Films set in 2020:
- Roujin Z (1991)
- Mission to Mars (2000)
Television
- Television programs set in 2020:
- Knights of God (1987)
- Sealab 2020 (1972)
- Terrahawks (1983–1984)
- Supervolcano (2005)