Overview
- The 2026 FIFA World Cup opens June 11 at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca and concludes July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New York, hosted across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
- The Winter Olympics are scheduled for February 6–22 in Italy's Milan–Cortina venues.
- NASA’s Artemis II crewed lunar flyby is planned around February 5, a mission that would take four astronauts, including Christina Koch, toward the Moon.
- France begins high-profile appeals with the 'assistants parlementaires' case involving Marine Le Pen from January 13 to February 12, followed by Nicolas Sarkozy’s appeal from March 16 to June 3 over alleged Libyan campaign financing.
- The United States holds midterm elections on November 3, capping a year of scheduled national votes worldwide.