The sporting year ahead in 2021

There won't be as many fans in the stands in Egypt (January 13-31) as there were at the last Men's Handball World Championship in Germany and Denmark in 2019. However, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Handball Federation is hoping to fill the venues to 30% capacity. Several members of the German team have already pulled out of the squad due to concerns over the coronavirus.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put back the tennis calendar. The first Grand Slam of the 2021 season, the Australian Open, is to take place from February 8 to 21 – three weeks later than usual. The current plan is for the second Grand Slam, the French Open, to begin on May 23 – with Wimbledon scheduled to start on June 28 and the US Open on August 30.

The 55th edition of the Super Bowl is scheduled for February 7 – assuming the COVID-19 pandemic doesn't force a change. The game is to be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Super Bowl is one of the sporting world's biggest annual events. The NFL's championship contest regularly draws a live television audience of several hundred million viewers all over the globe.

February sees numerous winter sports world championships: the Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships from February 1 to 14 in Altenberg and the Nordic Ski World Championships from February 23 to March 7 in Oberstdorf. Then there are the Alpine Ski World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy (February 7 to 21) and the Biathlon World Championships in Pokljuka, Slovenia (February 9 to 21).

Following an abbreviated Formula 1 season due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2021 schedule is longer than ever, with 23 races to be run, with Saudi Arabia making its debut as an F1 host. The season is scheduled to begin on March 21 with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. That's where Mick Schumacher, son of Michael Schumacher, will make his F1 debut for the Haas team.

Whether games will actually be played in Minsk is unclear. Latvia has said it no longer wants to co-host the May-June tournament with Belarus due to police violence against anti-government protesters, who took to the streets after an August election that the opposition claim was rigged. Moscow is said to be ready to step in as a cohost if the IIHF decides to take the event away from Belarus.

In 2021 Timo Werner, Serge Gnabry, Nico Schulz (from left to right) and Co. will play in the Germany jerseys that were unveiled for Euro 2020. The tournament had originally been scheduled for last summer, but COVID-19 put paid to those plans. Now it is to be held from June 11 to July 11. Munich is to host four matches, while the semifinals and final are to be played in London.

"Personally, I would have liked to see more mountain finishes," said defending champion Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia (right) of the route for the 2021 edition of the Tour de France, which is to be run between June 26 and July 18. Just three of the 21 stages end on a climb. For the first time in Tour history, the legendary Mont Ventoux will have to be conquered twice in one day.

IOC President Thomas Bach has pledged that the Tokyo Olympic Games will be "an unprecedented celebration of the unity and solidarity of humankind, making them a symbol of resilience and hope." The coronavirus pandemic forced the IOC and local organizers to postpone the Summer Games from 2020 to July 23-August 8 2021. The Paralympics are to be held from August 24 to September 5.

Hosts and holders New Zealand will once again be the team to beat, as the best women’s rugby players in the world arrive in Auckland and Whangerei from September 18 to October 16. The tournament format has been tweaked this year, with quarterfinalists drawn from three groups and there will be a first World Cup appearance for Morocco.

Two Germans, Anne Haug (pictured above) and Jan Frodeno, won the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii in 2019. In 2020, the world's most prestigious triathlon was first postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and then completely canceled for the first time since its premiere in 1978. The 44th edition is scheduled for October 9, 2021.