From Olympics, COVID vaccine to 'FRIENDS' reunion; List of things to look forward in 2021

The unprecedented situations that made people across the world rethink all the simpler things in life such as dining out or standing in a congested road, the dreadful year also led to a range of things to stop last year, for the first time in several years. However, as the world celebrated 2021 after a rather lengthy 2020, there is a range of things that can instil a sense of excitement among everyone. From ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S’ cast reuniting to NASA’s rover Persecerance landing on Mars, from new music to brand new video games and movies, this year has a lot in store in almost all fields. Here are some of them:

F.R.I.E.N.D.S reunion

FRIENDS cast Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Anniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courtney Cox, and Maat LeBlanc are set to be reunited in March 2021, that is 16 years after the last episode with all six of them was telecasted. In a tweet on November 12, 2020, Matthew Perry confirmed the news and called 2021 a “busy year”. Ben Winston (the producer of The Late Late Show With James Corden) will be directing the special. 

Read - 'FRIENDS' Reunion To Finally Take Place In March 2021, Tweets Matthew Perry

NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Landing

In a significant milestone in mission to Mars, NASA’s Perseverance Rover was lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida will land on the Red Planet February 18, 2021, and will conduct its ‘main job’ of finding signs of ancient life along with collecting rock and soil samples for a possible return to Earth making it the first rover for Astrobiology.

Read - NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Launched: Watch The Historic Liftoff Here

COVID-19 vaccines

From 'Covishield' in India to 'Sputnik V' in Russia, from Pfizer-BioNTech in US and UK to Sinopharm's vaccine in China, countries across the world will begin mass vaccinations against COVID-19, the disease that set the world on pause throughout 2020 due to prolonged lockdowns and businesses shutting down. COVID-19 vaccines are probably one of the most exciting things for millions across the globe after witnessing the pandemic and losing millions to the disease.

Read - Covishield Likeliest To Be India's Guard Against Covid: Know All About The Oxford Vaccine

UEFA Euro championship

Owing to the global health crisis, UEFA European Championship which was set to be held between June to July 2020 was postponed to 2021. The dates for the next Europe cup are from June 11 to July 11, 2021. Moreover, UEFA is reportedly even planning to host the upcoming European Championship only in Russia, rather than going through with the original plan of 12 host countries.

Read - UEFA Planning To Alter Euro 2021 Format From 12 Host Countries To Just One: Reports

T20 cricket world cup

While the pandemic even ceased sports events across the world, cricket is set to resume with T20 cricket world cup in autumn, this year. India is all set to host the T20 World Cup 2021 and the same was confirmed by the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly in November. 

Read - Sourav Ganguly Launches ICC T20 World Cup 2021 To Be Held In India; See Picture

Tokyo Olympics

For the first time in 124-year modern history, Tokyo Olympics 2020 was postponed from July 24 to the summer of 2021 amid the increasing concerns of coronavirus outbreak. However, the games are now scheduled from July 2021 to August 8. Even though the Olympics this year won't be in a usual manner, the organising committee has already said that it would be 'simpler'.

Read - BIG: Tokyo Olympics 2020 Postponed To Next Year Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

New TV shows, movies

From Amazon producing highly anticipated prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, ‘Wheel of Time’ to Disney+ dropping a lot of shows related to the Star Wars Universe, 2021 has a lot of surprises for binge-lovers. Several other shows are also coming back on Netflix such as Cobra Kai (Season 3) which is already streaming, Dream Home Makeover (Season 2), The Minimalists: Less Is Now, Asphalt Burning (2021) among many others.

Read - What's Coming To Netflix In January 2021? Here Is A List Of Films & TV Shows

New music in 2021

Adele, Lorde, Cardi B, Kendrick Lamar, Evanescence and the Foo Fighters, several beloved artists are set to roll out their new songs or albums in 2021. Even amid the pandemic, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Miley Cyrus had dropped their albums that also acted as a breather for their music lovers across the globe.

Read - Grammy 2021 Nominations: Anoushka Shankar Nominated For The Best Global Music Album

New video games

Electronic Arts CEO and director Andrew Wilson recently revealed that a new Need for Speed and Battlefield game is in the making and will be arriving in 2021. At least six new games are going to be introduced on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X in the next financial year: April 2021 – March 2022 including new titles for the Need for Speed, Battlefield, and FIFA. The Battlefield game is going to release during the Holiday season of this year.

Read - PlayStation 5 Games For 2021: New Need For Speed And Battlefield Games To Release On PS5

6-G

Even though most of the world can be intimidated with the thought of 5G being fast, 6G is already on its way. Both Japan and Korea are already working on providing the 6G facilities that would take connectivity to yet another level even though other nations are still introducing 5G facilities. Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar has previously expressed hope that India can become a significant player by the time 6G services are introduced. 

Read - India Can Be Significant Player In 6G Technology: Defence Secretary

Drone delivery, truckless drivers

Last but not the least, 2021 is set to witness drone delivery. In an unprecedented move, the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has reportedly even given a nod to Zomato, Swiggy and Dunzo to start testing beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) drones for deliveries. In the United States, Walmart is now planning to start deliveries with a driverless truck in the US state Arkansas starting in 2021. Even the United States Parcel Service (UPS) reportedly expects to expand private home drone delivery by this year.

Read - Food Delivery Via Drones Could Soon Be A Reality In India; DGCA Gives Nod For Trials