What major international events are worth watching in 2025?

As we move into 2025, the world will witness a series of important events that could help shape global politics , economics, technology and culture.

Here are some major world events in 2025 that are expected to attract a lot of attention.

Malaysia holds the ASEAN chairmanship 2025

Malaysia will take over the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN from January 1, 2025, succeeding Laos. At the closing ceremony of the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits and related summits in October 2024 in Vientiane, Laos, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim officially announced the logo and theme of "Inclusiveness and Sustainability" of ASEAN in 2025.

ASEAN Logo 2025

Photo: Taken from clip on Asean2025.favotech.io

As the ASEAN chair in 2025, Malaysia is expected to host 300 meetings, summits and ASEAN-related programs, according to Bernama News Agency. Among them, the 46th ASEAN Summit will take place in May 2025. At that summit, ASEAN leaders are expected to adopt the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, according to the Bangkok Post .

Mr. Trump takes office as US President

Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States in Washington DC on January 20, 2025. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to flock to the US capital on this day to attend and witness the event, according to WTTG.

US President-elect Donald Trump speaks at an event in Phoenix, Arizona (USA) on December 22, 2024

About 50% of hotels in Washington DC are booked for Trump's inauguration week and that number is expected to rise to 94-97%.

Security plans have been put in place as the Biden administration pledges a peaceful transition of leadership.

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Early elections in Germany

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on December 27, 2024, dissolved the lower house of parliament to pave the way for early elections on February 23, 2025, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition collapsed, according to Reuters.

Parties have launched their election campaigns, with polls suggesting that Friedrich Merz, leader of the centre-right CDU, is likely to replace Mr Scholz, of the Social Democrats (SPD).

Polls also show the CDU leading (32%), followed by the far-right AfD (19%) and the SPD (15%), according to AFP. However, mainstream parties have refused to run with the AfD.

On security, both the CDU and SPD want to continue to help Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. However, the CDU remains vague about what weapons it will send to Kyiv, while the SPD opposes sending long-range missiles because "Germany and NATO should not become belligerents themselves," according to AFP.

World Expo in Japan

Japan will host the third World Expo in the event's 170-year history in 2025, which is expected to attract more than 20 million visitors from around the world, according to Kyodo News.

The exhibition is scheduled to run from April 13, 2025, to October 13, 2025, on an artificial island in Osaka City. The Japanese government and the private sector, as well as a total of 161 countries and regions, are among those planning to host the exhibition at the pavilions.

With the theme "Designing the Future Society for Our Lives", the World Expo in Osaka is expected to showcase cutting-edge technology from around the world, allowing for the sharing of ideas to solve global problems.

Previously, Japan hosted the World Expo in 1970 in Osaka Prefecture and in 2005 in Aichi Prefecture.

Midterm elections in the Philippines

On May 12, 2025, an estimated 68 million Filipino voters will participate in the midterm elections to elect 12 senators, 317 representatives and 17,942 governors, provincial councilors, mayors and councilors, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer .

In theory, the Senate race is a referendum on the incumbent president, but it is more accurate to see it as a demonstration of the incumbent president's control over the political machine. Most of the winning Senate candidates have the president's backing, according to The Conversation .

Polls show that Senate candidates backed by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. could win as many as nine to 10 of the 12 open seats, which would be crucial for President Marcos as he consolidates power amid a feud with Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

FIFA Club World Cup 2025

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is scheduled to take place in the United States from June 15 to July 13, with 32 clubs participating. The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will be historic as it will be an expanded format with 32 teams participating, up from the previous 7 teams.

From 2025, the new version of the FIFA Club World Cup will take place every 4 years, held in the country that will host the FIFA World Cup the following year. The old FIFA Club World Cup will be replaced by the "FIFA International Cup", which will still take place every year in a very quick format.

First G20 summit in Africa

On 19 November 2024, South Africa took over the G20 presidency from Brazil, becoming the first African country to lead the group of 19 leading economies of the world along with the European Union (EU). The one-year term officially began on 1 December 2024.

"South Africa has adopted the theme 'Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability' for its G20 presidency," South African President Cyril Ramaphosa stressed on December 3, 2024.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Cape Town on December 3, 2024

The G20 presidency will culminate in a G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, in November 2025. The summit will adopt a declaration that reflects the common stance of G20 countries and the joint actions they will take to address the world's most important challenges, according to Mr. Ramaphosa.

"The G20 presidency is a valuable opportunity for South Africa to advance efforts towards greater global economic growth and sustainable development," Mr. Ramaphosa stressed.

President Ramaphosa added that more than 130 meetings will be held in South Africa during the year it holds the G20 presidency. "Tens of thousands of people from nearly 30 countries and representatives from more than 20 regional and international organizations will come to South Africa during our G20 presidency," Mr. Ramaphosa predicted.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhung-su-kien-quoc-te-lon-dang-theo-doi-trong-nam-2025-185241226193713178.htm