2020s

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The 2020s (pronounced "twenty-twenties" or "two thousand [and] twenties"; shortened to "the '20s" and also known as "The Twenties") is the current decade that began on 1 January 2020, and will end on 31 December 2029.
The 2020s began with the COVID-19 pandemic. The first reports of the virus were published on 31 December 2019, though the first cases are said to have appeared nearly a month earlier. The pandemic led to a global economic recession, a sustained rise in global inflation for the first time since the 1970s, and a global supply chain crisis.
Several anti-government demonstrations and revolts occurred in the late 2010s and early 2020s, including a continuation of those in Hong Kong against extradition legislation; protests against certain local, state and national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic; others around the world, particularly in the United States, against racism and police brutality; one in India against agriculture and farming acts; one in Israel against judicial reforms; another in Indonesia against the omnibus law on jobs; protests and strikes in France against pension reform; political crises in Peru, Bangladesh, Armenia, and Thailand; and many in Belarus, Eswatini, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iran, China, Russia, and Venezuela against various forms of governmental jurisdiction, corruption and authoritarianism; along with citizen riots in Japan, the United States, and Brazil in an attempt to overturn election results. The world population grew to over 8 billion people, and in 2023, India overtook China as the most populous country in the world.
Ongoing military conflicts include the Myanmar civil war, the Ethiopian civil conflict, the Kivu conflict, the Mali War, the Yemeni civil war, the Somali Civil War, Sudanese civil war, the Syrian civil war, the Russo-Ukrainian War, and the Gaza war. The year 2021 saw the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, ending nearly 20 years of war in Afghanistan. The Russian invasion of Ukraine became the largest conventional military offensive in Europe since World War II, resulting in a refugee crisis, disruptions to global trade, and an exacerbation of economic inflation. In 2023, a Hamas-led attack marked the first invasion of Israel since 1948 and the deadliest massacre of jews since the holocaust, triggering an Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory. The invasion has led to the displacement of nearly all 2.3 million Gaza residents, a humanitarian crisis, a famine, and a polio epidemic, sparking global protests against Israel. In 2024, a quick and renewed rebel offensive during the Syrian civil war led to the toppling of Bashar al-Assad and the fall of the Assad regime. Smaller conflicts include the insurgency in the Maghreb, the Iraq insurgency, the Philippine and the Mexican drug wars.
With multiple extreme weather events magnifying in the 2020s, several world leaders have called it the "decisive decade" for climate action as ecological crises continue to escalate. In February 2023, a series of powerful earthquakes killed up to 62,000 people in Turkey and Syria; this event fell within the top five deadliest earthquakes of the 21st century.
There were significant improvements in the complexity of artificial intelligence, with American companies, universities, and research labs pioneering advances in the field. Generative AI-based applications such as ChatGPT and DALL-E have accumulated over billions of users, and allow users to instantly generate complex texts, images, art, and video, comparable to the sophistication of human work. Other technological advances have also been made, impacting many, such as the widespread use of teleconferencing, online learning, streaming services, e-commerce and food delivery services to compensate for lockdowns ordered by governments around the world during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent social media applications on the Internet like Threads, BeReal, Clubhouse, Bluesky, Gettr, and Truth Social launched, and introduced recent types of social media, like both audio-based and short-form content, further progressing in digital technology. Art forms, such as NFTs, also emerged as well. 5G networks have launched around the globe at the start of the decade as well, and became prevalent in smartphones. Research into outer space greatly accelerated in the 2020s, with the United States mainly dominating space exploration, including the James Webb Space Telescope, Ingenuity helicopter, Lunar Gateway, and Artemis program. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are being used for remote collaboration, meetings, and training. For example, VR can be used to create virtual meeting spaces where people can interact with each other as if they were in the same room. AR can be used to overlay digital information on top of the real world, making it easier for people to collaborate on projects. Contactless payments and mobile wallets have become more widespread, offering convenient and secure payment options. The pandemic also accelerated the adoption of contactless payments, as people became more concerned about the spread of germs. Mobile wallets, which had their roots in the previous decade, such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, have also become more popular, as they offer a convenient and secure way to pay for goods and services. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have also increased in popularity as well.
The prominent wars of the decade include:
Successful revolutions and otherwise major protests of the decade include, but are not limited to:
Note: To be included, entries must be notable (have a stand-alone article) and described by a consensus of reliable sources as "terrorism". They also must have 100 or more fatalities reported.
The most prominent terrorist attacks committed against civilian populations during the decade include, but are not limited to:
Having suffered decline in the years after the Great Recession, the centre-left politics and the 1990s political model (like progressivism, liberalism, social democracy, and third way policies) experienced a resurgence across Europe and the Anglosphere in the early 2020s, with New Statesman suggesting various causes, including natural shifts in the electoral cycle and conservatives' unpopularity among university graduates and voters under the age of 40.
Following the election of Donald Trump in the 2024 United States presidential election, the mid-2020s saw the resurgence of right-wing populism and the 1980s political model (like conservatism, neoliberalism, social conservatism, and anti-communist policies).
2024 was the biggest election year in history, and a number of countries announced snap elections, for example in Portugal and Senegal in March (parliamentary elections in November), the United Kingdom and France in July, Sri Lanka in September (parliamentary elections in November), Japan in October, Iceland and Ireland in November. This is the first time this has ever happened since 1905 (when data was first recorded) and the first time in the history of democracy, as universal suffrage began in 1894.
Sitting leaders that died in office:
In 2020: Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Pierre Nkurunziza and Sheik Sabah al-Sabah.
In 2021: Idriss Déby, John Magufuli, and Jovenel Moïse.
In 2022: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Elizabeth II.
In 2023: Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
In 2024: Hage Geingob, Ebrahim Raisi, and Nguyễn Phú Trọng.
In 2025: Didier Guillaume.
Former world leaders who died:
In 2020: Hosni Mubarak, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, John Turner, Daniel arap Moi, Pranab Mukherjee, Amadou Toumani Touré, Jerry Rawlings, Mamadou Tandja, Tabaré Vázquez, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Pierre Buyoya, John Cremona, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, Kuniwo Nakamura, Litokwa Tomeing, Moussa Traoré, Pascal Lissouba, Branko Kostić, Lee Teng-hui, Benjamin Mkapa, Miloš Jakeš, Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero, Abdul Halim Khaddam, Joachim Yhombi-Opango, Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo, Mike Moore, and Janez Stanovnik.
In 2021: Gustavo Noboa, Ali Mahdi Muhammad, Moudud Ahmed, Didier Ratsiraka, Bonfoh Abass, Mamnoon Hussain, Arturo Armando Molina, Hissène Habré, Jorge Sampaio, Abdelkader Bensalah, Kenneth Kaunda, Anerood Jugnauth, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Enrique Bolaños, Roh Tae-woo, Chun Doo-hwan, Benigno Aquino III, Carlos Menem, F. W. de Klerk, James Fitz-Allen Mitchell, Norodom Ranariddh, Kinza Clodumar, Karolos Papoulias, Yevhen Marchuk and Yukhym Zvyahilsky.
In 2022: Toshiki Kaifu, Ernest Shonekan, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Christos Sartzetakis, Amos Sawyer, Rupiah Banda, Karl Offmann, Shahabuddin Ahmed, Ayaz Mutallibov, Dušan Čkrebić, Mwai Kibaki, Leonid Kravchuk, Ciriaco De Mita, Stanislav Shushkevich, Romeo Morri, Bujar Nishani, Evaristo Carvalho, Jacob Nena, Shinzo Abe, José Eduardo dos Santos, Luis Echeverría, Francisco Morales Bermúdez, Fidel V. Ramos, Mikhail Gorbachev, Balakh Sher Mazari, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, Jiang Zemin, Adolfas Šleževičius, Edgar Savisaar and Pope Benedict XVI.
In 2023: Abdelsalam Majali, Constantine II of Greece, Álvaro Colom, Sherif Ismail, Pervez Musharraf, Lubomír Štrougal, Ivan Silayev, Sergey Tereshchenko, Hans Modrow, Ahmed Qurei, Gérard Latortue, Pōhiva Tuʻiʻonetoa, Pascoal Mocumbi, Sir Rabbie Namaliu, Mudar Badran, Nikica Valentić, Rifat Rastoder, Silvio Berlusconi, Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, Sir Tapley Seaton, Milan Milutinović, Arnaldo Forlani, Rachid Sfar, Jean-Jacques Honorat, Surat Huseynov, Henri Konan Bédié, Mircea Snegur, Abdul Ati al-Obeidi, Giorgio Napolitano, Marouf al-Bakhit, László Sólyom, Martti Ahtisaari, Bill Hayden, Li Keqiang, Henri Lopes, Antoni Martí, Rahim Huseynov, Faustin Twagiramungu, Paulin Obame-Nguema and Sir Michael Hardie Boys.
In 2024: Basdeo Panday, Dries van Agt, John Bruton, Sebastián Piñera, Edward Lowassa, Anfinn Kallsberg, Nikolai Ryzhkov, Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Brian Mulroney, Agbéyomé Kodjo, Mahammed Dionne, Josip Manolić, Gediminas Kirkilas, Ro Jai-bong, Kwassi Klutse, Brigitte Bierlein, Fernando José de França Dias Van-Dúnem, Jadallah Azzuz at-Talhi, Stojan Andov, Mohamed Osman Jawari, Javier Valle Riestra, Jógvan Sundstein, Ismail Haniyeh, Zaid Rifai, Salim Al-Huss, Alberto Fujimori, Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Sir Daniel Williams, A. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury, Alex Salmond, Gerasim Khugayev, Hama Amadou, Alphonse Poaty-Souchlaty, Vadim Brovtsev, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud, Serge Vohor, Phelekezela Mphoko, Don Martina, Dési Bouterse, Manmohan Singh, Jimmy Carter, Jamshid bin Abdullah of Zanzibar and Arnold Rüütel.
In 2025: Costas Simitis, Henny Eman, Walter Martos, Rosny Smarth, Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, Mauricio Funes, Julius Chan, Carlos Ferrero, Horst Köhler, Sid Ahmed Ghozali, Sam Nujoma, Thanin Kraivichien, David Vunagi, Francis Billy Hilly, Vitold Fokin and Khamtai Siphandone.
Coups d'état against ruling governments during the decade include:
Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts include:
Note: This table is a chronological list of earthquakes reported with 7.5Mw or greater or that have reported at least 100 fatalities.
Note: This section reports only floods with 200 or more deaths and avalanches and landslides involving 30 or more deaths.
Beginning in 2019 until 2022, a huge swarm of desert locusts threatened to engulf massive portions of the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The World Trade Organization reported that trade growth had stagnated and that trade restrictions were increasing as the decade began. The sectors most affected by import restrictions were mineral and fuel oils (17.7%), machinery and mechanical appliances (13%), electrical machinery and parts (11.7%), and precious metals (6%). Regional trade agreements were also found to be increasing.
Medical experts advised, and local authorities often mandated stay-at-home orders to prevent gatherings of any size. Such gatherings could be replaced by teleconferencing, or in some cases with unconventional attempts to maintain social distancing with activities such as a balcony sing-along for a concert, or a "birthday parade" for a birthday party. Replacements for gatherings were seen as significant to mental health during the crisis. Social isolation among alcohol users also adopted a trend towards Kalsarikänni or "pantsdrunking", a Finnish antisocial drinking culture.
Low-income individuals were more likely to contract the coronavirus and to die from it. In both New York City and Barcelona, low-income neighborhoods were disproportionately hit by coronavirus cases. Hypotheses for why this was the case included that poorer families were more likely to live in crowded housing and work in jobs deemed essential during the crisis, such as supermarkets and elder care. In the United States, millions of low-income people may lack access to health care due to being uninsured or underinsured. Millions of Americans lost their health insurance after losing their jobs. Many low-income workers in service jobs became unemployed.
The coronavirus pandemic was followed by a concern for a potential spike in suicides, exacerbated by social isolation due to quarantine and social-distancing guidelines, fear, and unemployment and financial factors. Many countries reported an increase in domestic violence and intimate partner violence attributed to lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial insecurity, stress, and uncertainty led to increased aggression at home, with abusers able to control large amounts of their victims' daily life. Midlife crisis is a major concern in domestic violence, social implications and suicides for middle-aged adults amid the pandemic. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a domestic violence and midlife crisis "ceasefire".
The murder of George Floyd led to civil unrest and protests across the United States and internationally in 2020.
24.3% of all national parliamentarians were women as of February 2019. 11 women were serving as head of state and 12 as head of government in June 2019. 20.7% of government ministers were women as of January 2019. There are wide regional variations in the average percentages of women parliamentarians. As of February 2019, these were: Nordic countries, 42.5%; Americas, 30.6%; Europe excluding Nordic countries, 27.2; sub-Saharan Africa, 23.9; Asia, 19.8%; Arab States, 19%; and the Pacific, 16.3%. Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians worldwide, 61.3% of seats in the lower house. About 26% of elected local parliamentarians are women.
Many states swore in their first female leaders during the 2020s, including Presidents Katerina Sakellaropoulou (Greece), Samia Suluhu Hassan (Tanzania), Sandra Mason (Barbados), Xiomara Castro (Honduras), Katalin Novák (Hungary), Dina Boluarte (Peru), Nataša Pirc Musar (Slovenia), Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova (North Macedonia) and Prime Ministers Rose Christiane Raponda (Gabon), Victoire Tomegah Dogbé (Togo), Kaja Kallas (Estonia), Fiamē Naomi Mata'afa (Samoa), Robinah Nabbanja (Uganda), Najla Bouden (Tunisia), Magdalena Andersson (Sweden), Giorgia Meloni (Italy), Judith Suminwa (DRC), and Chairwoman Borjana Krišto (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
Development in global goals and issues – including goals or progress related to the largest causes of human death – during the decade, according to reports that systematically track, quantify or review associated progress.
The fashion of the early 2020s was characterized by a variety of styles and influences from different eras. During this period, the trend towards individuality and self-expression in clothing continued. Young Millennials & Generation Z has witnessed a notable resurgence of fashion styles from the late 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s in the fashion industry. A prominent example of this is the revival of trends such as crop tops, baggy jeans, and elements from the Y2K aesthetic.
Sustainable fashion practices gained significance, with an increased awareness of environmentally friendly materials and production processes. Influences from social media culture were also unmistakable, as influencers and celebrities exerted a strong influence on fashion trends. The popularity of online platforms like Instagram and TikTok contributed to the rapid spread of trends, while simultaneously allowing niche styles and subcultures to flourish.
The COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted film releases especially early in the decade, resulting in a drastic drop in box office revenue as well as many films postponing their release or shifting it to a streaming services. Avatar: The Way of Water is the highest-grossing film of the decade so far, and currently the third-highest-grossing film of all time. Other financially successful films at the box office include Top Gun: Maverick, No Time to Die, Jurassic World Dominion, and Oppenheimer. Superhero films mostly continued to do well financially, with Spider-Man: No Way Home being the second-highest-grossing of the decade. Other successful superhero films include The Batman as well as most of Marvel Studios' "Multiverse Saga of the MCU". However, DC Studios' "DC Universe" films began to generally underperform at the box office.
Nintendo and Mattel made their own big-budget theatrical releases, resulting in the massive successes of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Barbie (which includes the "Barbenheimer" phenomenon). These films became the highest-grossing films of 2023 internationally.
The release of Disney's Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2 in theaters makes it the highest grossing R-rated film and the animated film of all time. These films became the highest-grossing films of 2024 internationally.
Ne Zha 2 became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, marking the first time a non-American, non-English-language animated film achieved this milestone. The film also claimed the title of the highest-grossing film in China and the highest-grossing foreign language film as well as the highest-grossing films of 2025 since the COVID-19 pandemic recovery. Disney's live-action remake of Snow White was directed by Marc Webb, it became one of the most controversial films ever made, under the policies of the second presidency of Donald Trump.
In 2021, following the aftermath of the pandemic, American cinema chain AMC Theatres released a movie theatre commercial with actress Nicole Kidman, which quickly went viral and gained a huge following for Kidman's performance and jumpsuit, campy tone and quotable dialogue, as well as spawning countless parodies and tributes.
Critically successful films nominated for awards include Nomadland, CODA, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Hundreds of Beavers, Licorice Pizza, The Fabelmans, Killers of the Flower Moon, Past Lives, Dune and its sequel Dune: Part Two, Wicked, Elvis, Belfast, The Power of the Dog, Poor Things, Anora, The Substance, RRR, The Brutalist, Oppenheimer, A Complete Unknown and Anatomy of a Fall.
Several successful and popular horror films include the X trilogy, Barbarian, and M3GAN.
Critically successful animated films include Wolfwalkers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, The Sea Beast, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, Nimona, Soul, Robot Dreams, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, Encanto, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Memoir of a Snail, Flow, Flee, Ne Zha 2, Chicken for Linda!, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, Luca, The Boy and the Heron and The Wild Robot.
Film legacy reboots regained popularity as many were released on streaming services and in theaters. Some of these film remakes, reboots and returns to older franchises include: Clerks III, Bill & Ted Face the Music, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Top Gun: Maverick, West Side Story, Mean Girls, He's All That, A Christmas Story Christmas, Scream, The Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, All Quiet on the Western Front, Nosferatu, Good Burger 2, Wonka, Matilda the Musical, Mufasa: The Lion King, Snow White, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Coming 2 America, The Color Purple, Superman, How to Train Your Dragon, 28 Years Later, Dune, Gladiator II, Lilo & Stitch, Freakier Friday, and Moana.
The 2020s started off with streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Binge, Max, Showtime, Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Disney+. Additional streaming services such as Discovery+, Paramount+, and Peacock were released as well. Ad-supported streaming televisions such as Pluto TV and YouTube TV also became more popular.
Billions of people watched the death and state funeral of Elizabeth II in 2022 and the 2024 Summer Olympics coverage in Paris speculated to be the most watched special television events in history.
Adult-oriented animated programming also continued a sharp upturn in popularity with ongoing controversial cartoons like South Park (1997–present), Family Guy (1999–2002, 2005–present) and Futurama (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023–present) along with the longtime running cartoon The Simpsons (1989–present).
Japanese anime continued to rise in global popularity and appeal during the decade, with works such as Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Chainsaw Man, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Oshi no Ko, Spy × Family, Delicious in Dungeon, Frieren, Dandadan, Suzume, The Boy and the Heron, Kaiju No. 8, Attack on Titan and One Piece reaching large international audiences.
New and critically acclaimed teen and adult animated shows like Midnight Gospel, Harley Quinn, Hazbin Hotel, Primal, Love, Death & Robots, Invincible, Arcane, and Smiling Friends launched in the 2020s, along with other animated shows such as Hilda, Bluey, Craig of the Creek, Amphibia, Star Wars: Visions, and The Owl House.
A variety of shows on streaming services such as Squid Game, Alice in Borderland, Severance, Never Have I Ever, Tulsa King, Ted Lasso, Beef, The Boys, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Only Murders in the Building, Wednesday, The Sex Lives of College Girls, Euphoria, Abbott Elementary, The Bear, The Witcher, The White Lotus, Hacks, The Diplomat, Yellowstone, The Last of Us, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Succession, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Tiger King gained popularity. Many different shows on many different competing streaming services resulted in what has been called the "streaming wars" of the early 2020s. Miniseries also gained popularity such as The Queen's Gambit, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Daisy Jones & the Six, Beef, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Mrs. America, Mare of Easttown, and Pam & Tommy.
Also released in the 2020s, the reality game show The Traitors achieved popularity and became a global success.
TV show reboots also became increasingly popular, with Frasier, That '90s Show, Shōgun, One Piece, and Friends: The Reunion appearing on streaming. Matthew Perry died in 2023, following Friends: The Reunion. Other TV remakes, reboots and returns from older series include: Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Father, House of the Dragon, iCarly, The Baby-Sitters Club, and The Wonder Years. Also TV shows based on films include: American Gigolo, The Penguin, the Star Wars TV shows and specials (The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, Andor), Peacemaker, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Knuckles, the Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ shows and specials, and Ted.
By 2020, TikTok, an online video service, had become extremely popular as a music platform on social media. Users on streaming platforms such as Spotify, YouTube Music, Deezer, Amazon Music, and Apple Music have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Festivals such as Coachella were cancelled because of the virus. The COVID-19 pandemic devastated the touring business.
Pop, hip-hop, C-pop, J-pop, K-pop, R&B, nu-disco, and synth-pop all dominated the early part of the decade, with the most popular artists being Ariana Grande, Cai Xukun, Lizzo, Lil Ghost, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, Dua Lipa, Ice Spice, Jack Harlow, the Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, J.Sheon, Chappell Roan, Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, Bad Bunny, Adele, Morgan Wallen, Beyoncé, the Kid Laroi, and more. The early 20s also saw the one-off return of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones with a new song and album, respectively, which topped out the charts immediately upon release.
The ninth generation of consoles began in 2020. The industry remains dominated by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft with the release of the Xbox Series X/S and the PlayStation 5, while the Nintendo Switch continues to be popular from the previous decade. Technological advancements in consoles included support for real-time ray tracing graphics and output for 4K or even 8K resolution. Physical media continued to be replaced by online distribution of games, with the Xbox Series S and the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition lacking an optical drive. The Steam Deck was released in 2022 as Valve's attempt to bring PC-level gaming to a Nintendo Switch-style handheld format.
During the decade PC gaming would continue growing rapidly with the console gaming market remaining more stagnant. The growing majority of video game developers would also primarily focus on developing their projects for PC.
Critically successful games such as Elden Ring, Ghost of Tsushima, God of War Ragnarök, Baldur's Gate 3, Black Myth: Wukong, Astro Bot, and The Last of Us Part II were released and won multiple best game of the year awards, signaling a shift towards narrative-driven and single-played focused gaming compared with the end of the 2010s where popularity of multiplayer gaming dominated. Nonetheless, widely successful multiplayer games includes Call of Duty: Warzone, Fall Guys, Fate/Grand Order, Fortnite, Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, It Takes Two, Minecraft, Roblox, Dead by Daylight, Overwatch 2, League of Legends, and Valorant. The detective-party game Among Us surged in popularity in 2020 and became a global sensation, largely attributed in to global stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There is a revival in expressionist architecture. The SoFi Stadium and Intuit Dome were completed in September 2020 and August 2024, there are a components of Hollywood Park, a master-planned neighborhood in development in Inglewood, California. The venue serves as a home to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Rams, and the Chargers. Both they hosted Super Bowl LVI in February 2022 and the 2026 NBA All-Star Game in February 2026. The stadium and arena is also set to host the opening and closing ceremonies, aquatic events (swimming and diving), and basketball events for the 2028 Summer Olympics, which will be hosted in Los Angeles, California, United States.
The development in Port Melbourne, Victoria of the West Gate Tunnel continued from 2020, which is designed to provide an alternative to the West Gate Bridge, it is expected to be completed in 2025.
The Unity Tower in Kraków was finally completed on 30 September 2020. The construction of the building originally started in 1975, but stopped permanently in 1981 because of economic constraints and political unrest at the time. Due to the unfinished building's resemblance to a skeleton, it was nicknamed after Skeletor, the arch-villain in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, which was popular in Poland at the time construction began.
The 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo were postponed to July–August 2021. This was the first Olympic Games to be postponed rather than cancelled in history since World War II.
The 2020 T20 Cricket World Cup, originally scheduled to take place in Australia, was rescheduled to occur in India in 2021. It was then rescheduled to occur in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, mainly in the former. Australia won its first title in the event.
Sporting leagues such as the North American NHL, MLB, and NBA, and the English Premier League adapt their seasons and championship play around COVID-19 by placing players in "bubbles" and televising games played in empty arenas and stadiums.
Zimbabwean sports administrator and politician Kirsty Coventry became the first woman, the first multicultural, and the first African President of the International Olympic Committee, following the resignation of Thomas Bach. She is also the second youngest person and second Olympic medallist to be elected to the position since Pierre de Coubertin and Thomas Bach, her achievements are focusing feminism and gender equality in sports.
New sports for the Summer Olympic Games in the 2020s, such as cricket (2028), dancesport (breakdancing, 2024), flag football (2028), karate (2020), lacrosse (2028), roller sports (roller skating and skateboarding, since 2020), sport climbing (since 2020), squash (2028), surfing (since 2020) for the youth athletes towards audiences. Both cricket and lacrosse were previously appeared in 1900 and 1908.
Food delivery apps such as DoorDash, Instacart, Menulog, Uber Eats, Grubhub and Just Eat Takeaway flourished due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Indoor dining was also closed in many countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and upon re-opening the usage of QR codes and other technologies in the restaurant industry increased compared to the 2010s in order to comply with pandemic restrictions.
Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, online grocery shopping has substantially grown and in the first few months of the pandemic, online grocery shopping increased by 300%. Before the pandemic occurred, food shopping activity accounted for 9% of the market, now 63 percent of consumers worldwide have purchased more groceries online after the outbreak than they did before they were socially isolated.
Books published throughout the decade include The Vanishing Half, Leave the World Behind, Transcendent Kingdom, I'm Glad My Mom Died, All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopedia by Simon Garfield, The Glass Hotel, Memorial and The City We Became. Recent releases on this decade include How to Prevent the Next Pandemic by Bill Gates, Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange, Wikipedia @ 20 by Joseph M. Reagle Jr. and Jackie Koerner, It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism by Bernie Sanders, Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting ,and The Candy House.
Over a year after Friends: The Reunion, and the year before his death, Matthew Perry released Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing (which had a foreword written by Lisa Kudrow). The book became a New York Times best-seller.
Japanese manga would continue dominating the comic book industry throughout the decade.
The following articles contain brief timelines which list the most prominent events of the decade:
Media related to 2020s at Wikimedia Commons