2010

2010 (MMX) will be a common year starting on Friday in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It will be the first year of the 2010s decade.

Pronouncing 2010 and subsequent years

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 X" for years of the current decade, in theory this could mean any year up to 2999.

One article suggests that since former years such as 1809 and 1909 were commonly pronounced as "eighteen oh-nine" and "nineteen oh-nine", the year 2009 should naturally be pronounced as "twenty oh-nine", and 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. ^[1]

A January 2000 Australian Broadcasting Corporation poll found 40% of people favoured calling the 2010s the "twenty tens", 60% said "two thousand and tens". ^[2]

In addition, the Vancouver Olympics, taking place in 2010, are being officially referred to by Vancouver 2010 as "the twenty-ten Olympics". ^[3] The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006 has restricted the commercial use of the terms "Two Thousand and Twelve" and "Twenty Twelve", to protect the London 2012 Olympics.^[4] Chicago 2016, which operates the official Chicago bid for the 2016 games, refers to the "twenty-sixteen games".

According to a recent press release^[when?], 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 that of "twenty ten", but the flow of "twenty eleven" beats "two thousand (and) eleven".^[5] Alternatively, Ian Brookes, editor-in-chief of Chambers Dictionary, suggests the change will occur in 2013 (as 2012 is often referred to as "two thousand and twelve").

Predicted and scheduled events

January

• January 1 - Spain takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from Sweden.
• 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).
• January 29 - Mars opposition with Earth will occur.

February

• February 11 - On STS-131, the Space Shuttle Atlantis will use the MPLM Raffaello to deliver science racks to the laboratories of the International Space Station.^[6]
• February 12–28 - The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.

March

• March 7–12 - 2010 International Congress of Actuaries scheduled in Cape Town, South Africa.
• March 12–21 - 2010 Winter Paralympics scheduled in Vancouver and Whistler Canada.

April

• April 1 - The Census in United States will be held.
• April 8 - On STS-132, the Space Shuttle Discovery will carry an integrated cargo carrier, and deliver a Russian Mini Research Module to the Zarya module of the International Space Station.^[6]

May

• May - The 7th European Festival of Youth Choirs (EJCF) will be held in Basel, Switzerland.
• May 1 – October 30 - 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.
• May 31 - On STS-133, the Space Shuttle Endeavour will deliver critical spare components including antennas and tanks assemblies to the International Space Station.^[6] It currently marks the tentative end to the Space Shuttle program.

June

• June 6 - Conjunction between Jupiter and Uranus, Jupiter 28' south. First conjunction of triple conjunction Jupiter/Uranus.
• June 11 – July 11 - 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

July

• July 1 - Belgium takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from Spain.
• July 11 - Total solar eclipse (visible only in the South Pacific (esp. Easter Island) and southern South America).
• 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 19–27 - The 26th International Congress of Mathematicians will be held in Hyderabad, India.
• August 14–26 - The inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games will be held in Singapore.
• August 31 - Deadline for withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq, announced February 27, 2009.

September

• September 22 - Conjunction between Jupiter and Uranus, Jupiter 53' south. Second conjunction of triple conjunction Jupiter/Uranus.

October

• October 1 - Census will be held in Russia.
• October 1 - Census will be held in Japan.

November

• November 2 - Elections for the United States Congress.
• November 1-30 - The first Peruvian nanosatellite will be launched from Russia.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Unknown dates

• Microsoft Surface computers are expected to be available as retail products for consumers.^{[citation needed]}
• 1300 year anniversary of transfer capital to Heijō-kyō, with anniversary festival at Nara, Japan.^{[citation needed]}
• Austria, Germany, Malta and Spain will cease analog television broadcasts.^{[citation needed]}
• General Motors will produce a commercially viable model of its hydrogen-fueled drive-by-wire concept car, the Hy-wire.^[11]
• 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.
• Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey, is going to be the European Capital of Culture.
• JAXA PLANET-C orbiter to Venus.
• Launch of the KEO satellite time capsule, if it was not launched in 2009.
• MS Queen Elizabeth, a ship ordered by Cunard Line October 2007 will be finished. She will act as sister ship to MS Queen Victoria.
• President Barack Obama of the United States will give his first State of the Union Address
• Proposed launch of the General Motors Chevrolet Volt electric car.
• The International Space Station will be completed.
• 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.^[12]
• The UK's analogue TV Signal will be switched off in this year in favor of digital TV with HTV West and STV being the areas to switchover.^[13]

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 8 to September 10 - Rosh Hashanah, the "Jewish New Year"
• September 17/18 - Yom Kippur, the holiest holiday in Judiasm
• 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

In fiction

Computer and video games

• Street Fighter 2010 (1990)
• Mega Man 3 (1990)
• Psychic Force (1996)
• Dino Crisis 2 (2000)
• Uplink (2001)
• 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.
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (2006)
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (2008), mostly set in 2010, the first level of the game is set in 2005
• Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (2008)

Film

• Part of the 2002 movie Jason X took place in 2010.
• 2010 (1984)
• Banlieue 13 (2004)

Literature

• 2010: Odyssey Two (1982) by Arthur C. Clarke.
• Tracy Hickman, The Immortals (1996)
• The Mayflower Project (2001) by K.A. Applegate.
• In The Presence of Mine Enemies (2003) by Harry Turtledove.
• In the Death Note manga, January 28, 2010 is the death of Light Yagami, the main character.

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 appear on their 2009 album Screens.

Television

• Macross: The surface of the Earth is decimated in 2010 by the Zentradi in a final attack that also ends in the defeat of their fleet due to the operation Minmay Attack done as a counterattack by the Humans.
• The Transformers (1986–1987 season)
• Knight Rider 2010 (1994 TV movie)
• The Simpsons: In the episode "Lisa's Wedding" (1995), the titular wedding is set for 2010.
• 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.
• Stargate SG-1 ("2010," 2001)
• 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.
• Code Geass: The Holy Britannian Empire begins the invasion of Japan. (2010 of the imperial calendar*=1955)
• Rugrats: There is an episode entitled "Reptar 2010" (first aired in 1993), where the main characters (babies) imagine themselves as their favorite fictional dinosaur, Reptar (a Godzilla-like creature), destroying a city. Most likely set in the year 2010.
• Total Drama the Musical is aired after Total Drama Island and Total Drama Action in 2010.
• Doctor Who: The episode Planet of the Dead (2009) is partly set in 2010.

References