Pink parade ... catch Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai, India this September. Photograph: Frédéric Soltan/Sygma/Corbis

January: Liverpool

	Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Corbis

Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture kicks off on January 11 with a free open-air spectacular involving choirs, Ringo Starr and The Wombats on rooftops around St George's Basin; plus a ballet performed by cranes. On the 19th, The Number 1 Project concert will feature Liverpool artists who've hit the top of the charts (no confirmations but publicity has mentioned Cilla, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Ian Broudie). And on January 25, We Are All Immigrants is a performance involving the hip Sense Of Sound choir, Sarajevo-born singer Téa Hodzic, poetry from Lemn Sissay, and electronic visuals.

February: Ghana

	Photograph: Neil Marchand/Liewig Media Sports/Corbis

Sports/Corbis Since no home nations will play a part in Euro 2008 (English and Scottish fans are still hurting from the hope), the African Cup of Nations is a more attractive international football proposition than the summer in Switzerland and Austria. Featuring many Premiership stars – including Chelsea's Essien (Ghana) and Drogba and Arsenal's Eboue and Kolo Toure (all Ivory Coast) – it promises exciting action and may even throw up the winner of the next World Cup (in South Africa).
This year's African Nation's Cup is held in Ghana, so you can combine support for the Eagles Of Carthage (Tunisia), Bafana Bafana (South Africa) or the Indomitable Lions (Cameroon), with exploration. Try an eco-tour to the lush Volga valley; see the Mole National Park (elephants, baboons and an ancient mosque); examine slave castles; explore the Ashanti culture; or lie on the beaches of the Gulf Of Guinea.

March: Verbier, Switzerland
The Swiss ski resort Verbier will be the toast of the posh press this season as Richard Branson opens his latest exorbitant retreat there, The Lodge (with its own ice rink, driver on call 24/7 and a 35-grand-a-week price tag). However, it is a much more raw experience that should take you there between March 14 to 23: the Nissan O'Neill Verbier Xtreme. While other ski and snowboard events are excuses for a party, the Verbier Xtreme has always been about the riding. Pack a picnic, grab a good spot on the Col des Gentianes and gaze over to the vertiginous Bec des Rosses as the world's best freeriders carve amazing lines between and often over the rocks on a slope up to 55 degrees steep.

April: Inverness, Scotland
On April 16 1746, the last hand-to-hand battle on British soil took place at Culloden outside modern Inverness. That's about as much as can be taken as fact before emotion takes over in discussions of the clash between Jacobites and Hanoverians. A new visitors' centre at the site, designed by Glaswegian architect Gareth Hoskins, which officially opens on the anniversary, will attempt to explain the context and detail in a building that contains recently discovered artefacts and sets the mood with its corridors that mirror ditches and walls found out on the haunting battlefield. The embarrassment of visitors called Campbell and Sinclair (among others) proudly and loudly claiming their Scottish lineage in the car park, only to discover their ancestors were on the so-called English side, remains unchanged.

May: Oslo
One of the most exciting public buildings due to open in 2008 is the Nyett Operahus (New National Opera House), a replacement for the old opera house, known locally as "the block of brown cheese". Situated in the Bjorvika harbour area, its sloping roof rises from the fjord itself and is as much a place to stroll as a musical venue. Designed by young Norwegian architects Snøhetta, it hasn't been without its problems: the Italian marble they've controversially used instead of local stone, is reacting with the mortar. So see it before it turns into "the block of yellow cheese".
The opening production is a new work, Around The World In 80 Days, by young Norwegian composer Gisle Kverndokk. Tickets for the premiere on April 26 have gone for up to £10,000, so best wait till May.

June: Morocco

	Gnaoua World Music Festival, Essaouira

The Gnaoua World Music Festival in Essaouira is one of the most interesting musical happenings in the world. It may not be quite as extreme or remote as Mali's Festival du Desert, since it is based in the Mediterranean coastal town; but it is centred upon Gnaoua music, a hypnotic sound associated with animism and based on lute, drums and chanting. One song can last an hour and be accompanied by acts of self-harm that would put an emo kid to shame. However, artists from around the world also appear – Salif Keita, Youssou N'Dour and The Wailers have all played there. Essaouira has a medina, riads, craft shops, influence from traders from around the world – everything you want from a North African holiday spot.

July: Serbia

	Photograph: Thorne Anderson/Corbis

Many people who tracked mud home from Somerset last June finally said the unsayable: "I might give Glastonbury a miss next year." Apart from the dreadful weather, there were the questionable line-up decisions (The Killers headlining?) and Michael Eavis saying the over-30s were making it too middle-aged. So it could be time to seek alternatives. Winner of Best European Festival at the 2007 UK Festival Awards, Exit (in Serbia's second city, Novi Sad) had a notably dance-oriented line-up last year: Basement Jaxx, CSS, Groove Armada, Beastie Boys and the Wu Tang Clan, as well as DJ sets. And it managed to retain its social responsibility angle despite its growing success. The setting – the Petrovaradin Fortress on the shores of the Danube – makes it one of the most attractive festivals in Europe.

August: Mongolia

	Photograph: Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis

On August 1 there will be a total eclipse of the sun, but its shadow will largely fall on a path across the Arctic. Towards the end of the day, however, having crossed Siberia, it will be visible in Mongolia. The country is one of the few true wildernesses left on earth, with terrain including mountains, steppe and semi-desert, and nomadic people still existing in the land of the Khans with the aid of camel, horse and yak. So it seems appropriate that travel companies will be setting up camps in the Dzungarian Gobi, from which you can view the eclipse while sipping on a refreshing cup of airag - fermented mare's milk.

September: Mumbai
Ganesh has always been non-Hindus' favourite Hindu deity, as he is most commonly represented in the incarnation of a jolly rotund elephant boy. He is particularly revered by the gay community in Mumbai during his festival in September, because he represents the removal of obstacles – and it's an occasion for them to express themselves as idols are plunged into the sea at Chowpatty beach. Self-expression for gay Mumbai usually comes – as it does at Mardi Gras and Pride parades worldwide - in the form of outrageous outfits and pounding disco. Only here, the pink pop songs are given a Bollywood cover version treatment.

October: San Francisco
The California Academy Of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate park reopens in October, after a major refit based on Renzo Piano's architecture. Incorporating existing elements such as the vaulted Africa Hall, the building connects the outdoor surroundings and the interior highly effectively – huge glass walls and retractable roofs allow light and air into the galleries. There is a tropical glasshouse within the building, with a glass lift that then drops you through the canopy and below the mangrove swamp and on to an underground aquarium. All in all, it's a better way to encounter animals in San Francisco than at the local zoo.

November: Washington DC
The US Presidential election is potentially the most important event of 2008 – and, if there is still a possibility of the US electing either the first black or woman Commander-in-chief, it could be an exciting time to be in Washington. Just don't be too forceful trying to get into the parties – those bouncers will be armed. If you find the media coverage of the election isn't quite in the tradition of Edward R Murrow or Woodward and Bernstein, visit the Newseum, opening early in 2008, with exhibits on the history of the news in all media; Pulitzer Prize-winning photos; copies of the Magna Carta and Constitution; and an Ethics Centre, where you make tough decisions about fictional news stories.

December: Whistler, Canada
The British Columbian resort of Whistler is in the midst of a major programme of infrastructure improvements in readiness for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics (when it will host the skiing and snowboarding events). One of the biggest projects opens in December – an enormous cable car which connects the two ski areas of Whistler and Blackcomb mountain for the first time ever. Previously you either chose one area to ski in during the day, or to ski both, you had to return to the village, hop on a bus, and head up the opposite mountain. The Peak-To-Peak gondola will cut that schlep to 11 minutes with a feat of engineering which will break world records: the cabins will travel over a 3km unsupported span and at 415m above the valley at one point.