Happy New Year!

It's 2012!! And it's time to look forward to the cultural treats that the year has to offer. So sit back, relax and enjoy my top 5 cultural things to look out for this year:

1.) London Olympics:
 British culture has plenty to offer and is being put to excellent use this summer as the basis for the 30th Olympiad. Details are fairly sketchy at the moment but we've been promised a celebration of William Shakespeare's works and countless adaptations for TV and film of Charles Dickens' greatest books (who incidentally celebrates his 200th birthday). As well as this, expect legendary musicians and actors to be making their mark on "The Greatest Show on Earth". The Opening Ceremony is being directed by the award-winning director, Danny Boyle ("Slumdog Millionaire"), so my expectations are pretty high and I'm confident they will be met.

2.) Possible Rise of Lana Del Ray:
This intriguing lady has been floating around since late 2011 and she's been making a name for herself with her hauntingly beautiful voice that just oozes old Hollywood glamour, seen at its best in her debut single, "Video Games". I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that 2012 will be the year of Miss Del Ray. With her album, "Born to Die" being released at the end of the month, and the title track recently premiering (a stunningly, rich slice of musical paradise full of intriguing yet disturbing musings about life), Lana looks set to take the world by storm.

3.) The Iron Lady:
Whatever your views on Miss Thatcher, this film is bound to appeal to anyone with the slightest interest in history,politics or just simply cinema. Early reviews indicate that we might just be in for a superb piece of cinema with a host of legendary actors that include Jim Broadbent, Richard E Grant and of course Meryl Streep. If reports are to be believed, Streep gives the performance of her career and she should expect numerous accolades to be coming her away as we approach the awards season. It's released in the UK on 6th January so you can expect a review from me in the very near future.

4.) Return of Madonna:
The Queen of Pop is returning! And by returning, I mean to music. I don't mind Madonna doing a bit of film directing on the side but COME ON! Her calling is obviously to making perfect pop music and 2012 will see the release of her first album in four years (after the slightly-less-than-amazing "Hard Candy"). Early signs are mixed, she's working with producer, William Orbit who helped create the epic "Ray of Light" with her in 1997 (This is excellent news!) but a leaked demo of the suggested first single, "Gimme all your love" left a lot to be desired (far too generic for someone whose been making waves in the music industry for 30 years). Despite this, I remain hopeful that Madonna can turn out another standout album to define pop culture for the next few years.

5:) Follow-Up Lady Gaga Tour:
After spending nearly two years on the road with the audaciously spectacular "Monster Ball Tour", Lady Gaga looks set to return to the stage in 2012 with her phenomenally successful (not to mention, quite brilliant) album, "Born This Way"! With a setlist of fantastic songs and the creativity we've come to expect from Gaga, this might just be the best tour of 2012.  Rumours suggest we're in for a mammoth 450-date tour with every conceivable manner of pyrotechnics, smoke and fake blood! Sounds pretty darn amazing!

So that's my top 5 cultural highlights of 2012 but they may well change and if and when they do, I'll let you all know. Why not leave a comment and tell me what your looking forward to. In the next few days, I hope to review my favourite films, albums and books from 2011 before moving onto the treats that this year has in store. In the meantime, Happy New Year!