A (fun) to-do list for 2023

Nicholas Copeland, sports writer| January 9, 2023

2023 will be a fun filled year with many events to look forward to.

2023 is finally here. It will be an eventful year with a new Hunger Games movie, Taylor Swift tour and an international tournament for soccer and baseball. Here is one event that you can look forward to in each month of 2023.

January- This year, Disney is celebrating its 100 Year of Wonder Celebration. Now, 61 movies and a lasting legacy later, Disneyland Resort is holding its 100th year celebration starting Jan. 27. This will include new attractions opening at the parks in California, nighttime shows and new glitter and commemorative banners on the Sleeping Beauty’s castle.

February- Super Bowl LVII (57) is taking place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona Feb. 12. The halftime show will be performed by pop star Rihanna. 99 million people watched the Rams defeat the Bengals last year, making it the most watched sporting event in the U.S. of 2022. Now fans hope their team is crowned 2023 NFL champions.

March- The World Baseball Classic (WBC) will be held across the U.S. in several MLB stadiums from March 8-21. The last WBC was in 2017, but due to COVID-19, the WBC was canceled for 2021 and postponed to 2023. The American team looks to defend its title with stars like Mike Trout, Mookie Betts and a trio of Cardinals consisting of Nolan Arenado, Adam Wainwright and Paul Goldschmidt. Puerto Rico, led by manager, Yadier Molina, hopes to spoil the American repeat.

April- Australia looks to launch their first space rocket in April. Gilmour Space has almost finished building a rocket that, if successful, will make them the 12th country to put a rocket with a satellite attached into orbit.

May- Following Queen Elizabeth’s death in September 2022, her son, Prince Charles III, became the next heir in line for the crown. He and his wife, Camilla, will be crowned King and Queen consort May 6 at Westminster Abbey in London.

June- Indiana Jones has made over 300 million dollars across the four movies that have been made. The fifth installment of the franchise, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” starring Harrison Ford, will be released June 30.

July- Taylor Swift comes to Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium on July 7-8. While her tour kicks off in March, this is the closest concert to St. Louis, as she is not doing a concert in St. Louis. Taylor Swift has not done a tour since her Reputation Tour in 2018, and this one is an era’s tour including songs from all nine of her albums.

August- Soccer fans rejoice because, although the men’s national team lost to the Netherlands in the Round of 16 of the World Cup, the U.S. does dominate in one of the World Cups. The U.S. women’s team looks to three-peat in New Zealand and Australia as they are ranked the number one team in the world, according to FIFA The tournament starts July 20 and the final game is scheduled to be played Aug. 20 in Sydney, Australia.

September- The International Basketball Federation’s (FIBA) Basketball World Cup will be held in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia, starting in late August and running until Sept. 10. This event is used as qualification for the Paris Summer Olympic Games in 2024. In 2019, Spain defeated Argentina in the finals and this year they hope to defend their title. The U.S. is currently leading their pool in qualifiers and is looking to improve from their seventh place finish in 2019.

October- The Cardinals will wrap up their 2023 regular season with a home game Oct. 1 against the Cincinnati Reds. The Redbirds have a lot to look forward to after a promising 2022 season, the reigning NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt returning, playing in the first ever MLB game to take place in London and the offseason signing of Willson Contreras to replace Yadier Molina.

November- On Nov. 17, the fourth Hunger Games movie, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” will be released. The book prequel to the original trilogy was released in May of 2020 and now will be made into a movie, starring Tom Blyth as Corniolaunus Snow.

December- A new Willy Wonka movie is coming to theaters Dec. 15. The new movie, “Wonka,” starring Timothée Chalamet, follows a young Willy Wonka throughout his chocolate journey.