The Mirror looks ahead to the exciting new games, books, cars and other trends most likely to be hot throughout 2024. They include a Star Wars video game, excellent deals on new electric cars and the reunion of Girls Aloud.
Our experts across a range of themes, including travel and tech, have offered their expert verdict on the things to look out for in the new year. Cities such as Edinburgh, Lisbon, and Tokyo came top of the global top 10 destination list for 2023, but next year Peru looks perfect for long-haul choice.
And bookworms will next year enjoy RuPaul’s The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir, crime thriller Anthony Horowitz’s Close to Death and Marian Keyes’ My Favourite Mistake, all of which are set to be released in the Spring.
Tech and games
By Karen Bryans, Features
In Games, 2024 will see the launch of the highly anticipated Star Wars Outlaws but not even a Jedi Mind Trick performed on Ubisoft and Massive can pin the date down to more than that.
But while gamers wait, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for PS5 is out on February 29 and Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma 2 (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X) launches the following month.
And excitement continues to build for a 2024 launch of a new console from Nintendo, its first since the Switch hit the market in 2017.
In phones, the coming year could see the launch of iPhone 15 and, towards the end of it, iPhone 16 too. With details tight-lipped as usual, rumours has it that larger versions of the phones could be on the way.
And this could be the year that Virtual Reality headsets become more affordable with Facebook parent company Meta intending to release a cheaper version in 2024.
Travel
By Nigel Thompson, Travel Editor
Brits love a holiday but 21st century life appears to be overly-keen on putting obstacles in our way. Staying positive, there’s a great year of getaways ahead with something for everyone.
Peru looks perfect for long-haul with new LATAM services from Heathrow to Lima, then on to discover magical Machu Picchu, lofty Cusco, Lake Titicaca and the Amazon.
Short-haul, it’s eyes on Egypt for the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum opening by the Pyramids – home to 100,000 artefacts including Tutankhamun’s entire treasure collection.
Big-value Turkey will be trimming holiday costs as it overtakes France as our second most popular European destination after Spain. For staycationers, it’s a Celtic coup with wonderful Wales and sensational Scotland sure to shine.
Holidays afloat are set to break passenger records, with no-fly cruises and river itineraries making waves – TUI’s new Nile voyages are flying off the shelves. Safe travels wherever you go, and remember to buy travel insurance as soon as you book any holiday.
Cars
By Motoring Editor Colin Goodwin
This year you will see some astonishing deals available on new electric cars. Some are already in place. Honda, for example, is offering a £8,000 deposit contribution on its new e-Ny1 EV. Why the generosity? Because in 2024 something called the ZEV Mandate kicks in. Put simply, out of a car manufacturers’ total sales 22% have to be EVs. That’s pure electric vehicles, not hybrids or plug-in hybrids. Now get this: there’s a penalty of £15,000 per vehicle for those that miss the target.
So if you’re thinking of making the change to electric you should be on the lookout for really good deals. As mentioned earlier they’re around now but many more will come over the next few months.
Sport
by Andy Dunn
If you are happy to risk the inevitable industrial action, all sporting roads and rails should lead to Paris this summer when a host of Great British athletes will be striking … Olympic gold. Keep an eye out for Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix who is hoping to make more of a splash in the diving pool than her father, First Dates Fred, did in the Celebrity jungle.
Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have been making waves in their European homes this season and they will spearhead England’s challenge at football’s Euros in Germany while Tyson Fury aims to get the year off to a knockout start when he fights Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia next month in a showdown to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Look out for golfer Rory McIlroy ending his ten-year Major drought at The Open in Troon and 22-year-old Jack Draper will emerge as a serious Grand Slam contender at Wimbledon.
Music
By Ashleigh Rainbird, Diary Editor
The UK’s about to enter its Taylor Swift Eras tour era. Sadly, her tour dates mean she won’t be performing at Glastonbury festival in June, which she had been due to headline in 2020. But if you didn’t manage to get tickets – which is pretty likely, given they were like gold dust – young Olivia Rodrigo will prove just as much of a hit on her dates from May. Showing the youngsters how it’s done on the road will also be Barry Manilow (80) and Bruce Springsteen (73).
Girls Aloud are reuniting to pay tribute to late star Sarah Harding with a tour which kicks off in June.
Meanwhile we’ll be getting new albums from the likes of Paloma Faith, who returns with The Glorification Of Sadness in February, as well Sir Rod Stewart and The Libertines, whose first album for eight years – All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade – follows Louis Theroux’s recent fascinating interview with Pete Doherty.
Books
By Karen Bryans, Features
Bookworms are in for a stellar 2024, with great reads stacking up in style from Spring.
In memoirs, Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi’s The Boy From Baghdad (HarperCollins, March 14) will chart his life from his childhood in the Iraqi capital to the very heart of the British political establishment.
And in RuPaul’s The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir, (HarperCollins, March 2024), the drag colossos follows his star from his difficult childhood in San Diego, to the beloved performance powerhouse he is today.
In fiction, Marian Keyes’ My Favourite Mistake (Penguin Books, April 2024) will be a highlight – another heartwarming story of the Walsh sisters.
And in Crime, Anthony Horowitz’s Close to Death (Cornerstone, April 11) will be the latest helping of the entertaining series that sees the author make himself a central character of the action.
In Kate Atkinson’s Death At The Sign of the Rook (Transworld, August 2024) boasts a cast of characters familiar to any Agatha Christie fan…
And in non-fiction, Empireworld by author and journalist Sathnam Sanghera (Viking, Jan 25) is the second book, telling the story of British Imperialism.
Films
By Jessica Boulton, Showbiz Editor (Features)
You better bulk buy some popcorn because it’s going to be quite the year for movies – especially if you love a bit of nostalgia.
Top of this year’s must-watch list will be Gladiator 2, with Normal People’s Paul Mescal: the sequel to the Russell Crowe’s year 2000 Best Picture Oscar winner, which will come out fighting this December.
Meanwhile Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F will see Eddie Murphy back as Axel Foley for the first time in 30 years; Twisters, a sequel to the 1996 tornado movie, is hoping to blow us away in July; and Beetlejuice is finally getting a follow up in September, 36 years after the first.
Elsewhere we can also look forward to Dune: Part Two and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (both March), May’s Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy heading up the Mad Max Fury Road spin-off), July’s Deadpool 3 and October’s Joker: Folie à Deux, the follow-up to Joaquin Phoenix’s oh-so-serious Oscar-winning turn as Batman’s arch foe – this time with Lady Gaga as his Harley Quinn. For those who prefer something a little on the fluffier side….there’s also Paddington in Peru, (November) the latest in the beary[ital] good franchise.
Soap
By TV previewer Sara Wallis
It’s a new year, but the ghosts of the past are haunting Walford’s residents as they brace themselves for big EastEnders drama in 2024.
Family tensions are bubbling for George after his parents Gloria and Eddie turn up with something to tell their son. And a phone call prompts Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) to drop everything and head to Walford, with her son Louis and cousin Penny in tow. But trouble is following them… In Emmerdale, tragedy strikes for one family, which will impact the whole village.
A huge storyline brings shock for Chas and ex-Corrie star Paula Lane joins the soap mid-January to play a compassionate character called Ella, while Beth Cordingly arrives to play Ruby, Caleb’s wife.
In Corrie, Carla’s life is shaken up with the arrival of her nephew Bobby, who is tipped to end up in the biggest story for next year. And watch out for a major love triangle as Bethany Platt arrives to reignite the flame with ex Daniel, leaving Daisy threatened. We can also expect to see Paul’s final months after his fatal diagnosis.