2012

2012 was a leap year in the Gregorian calendar, beginning on Sunday, January 1, and ending on Monday, December 31.

London hosted the Summer Olympic Games from July 27 to August 12. The UEFA European Championship 2012 took place in Poland and Ukraine from June 8 to July 1, with Spain winning the tournament.

Barack Obama was re-elected president of the United States on November 6, defeating Mitt Romney. Greece held parliamentary elections in June amid the eurozone crisis, reflecting ongoing economic tensions in the region.

In science and technology, CERN announced the discovery of a particle consistent with the Higgs boson on July 4. NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission landed the Curiosity rover on Mars on August 6. SpaceX's Dragon became the first commercially built spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station on May 31.

Hurricane Sandy struck the Caribbean and the eastern United States in late October 2012, causing widespread damage and loss of life. The year also saw ongoing international conflict and political developments, including the Syrian civil war and continued adjustments related to the European debt crisis.

The year generated public interest in the so-called 2012 phenomenon surrounding Mayan calendar predictions, though no doomsday events occurred. Overall, 2012 was marked by significant events across sports, politics, science, and global affairs.