With the passing of the Games comes the sudden realisation that nothing of monumental proportions is scheduled in London for the foreseeable future. Sure there are all the usual great events that the capital schedules all the time (like this weekend for example the Lambeth Country Show, the Great River Race and London Design Festival). And there are fairly massive events that flame and burn for a brief time. But when it comes to behemoth celebrations that dominate our lives, like the Olympics, there really aren't that many at all.
Surely there must be something else on a mega-scale to look forward to, and to fill this sudden void in our lives. And maybe there is...
2015: The European Hockey Championships and the Rugby World Cup (not quite the same, I know, but it'll have to do) 2017: The World Championships in Athletics (at the Olympic Park, woo!) (assuming we still care about athletics) 2018: The British Grand Prix (but after that crash on Oxford Street, never again) 2019: Scottish Independence Festival (and good riddance) 2021: United Kingdom Reunification Festival (actually, welcome back) 2022: The Queen's Platinum Jubilee (she'll only be 96, of course she'll make it) 2027: The Queen's "I Wish We'd called The Last One Something Else" Jubilee 2028: The Coronation of King William V 2030: Declaration of the Republic of London (under Grand Emperor Boris) 2031: Frost Fair (skating and stalls on the frozen Thames) 2039: State Funeral of Sir Simon Cowell 2045: VW Day (celebrating the end of World War III) 2051: The Festival of London (post-austerity shindig on the South Bank) 2063: The Festival of China (welcoming our new economic overlords) 2079: The Coming Of The Space Octopus (hovering over Regent's Park for a fortnight, then disappearing along with 20% of the capital's children) 2092: The Games of the 50th Olympiad (narrowly beating Paris in the final vote) 2100: New Century's Eve at the Dome 2111: A Farewell Celebration (as the tip of Nelson's Column finally disappears below the floodwaters) 2112: World Swimming Championships
