January: Burj Khalifa, Dubai

Scared of heights? Then the tallest building in the world will be what your worst nightmares are made of. Last year Dubai turned to Abu Dhabi for a $10bn bail-out of its property development companies. As a thank you, Dubai’s ruler rechristened his country’s new superscraper after the Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa. Dubai has achieved some feat: the tower stands 818m tall, dwarfing the previous tallest building, the 508m Tower 101 in Taipei. The Burj has 160 floors, 57 lifts, 2909 stairs and its spire can be seen 60 miles away. It also has the world’s highest occupied floor, the tallest service lift, the world’s highest observation deck, a mosque and a swimming pool. To top it off, the hotel interior is designed by Giorgio Armani, darling. The Armani Hotel Dubai opens on March 18. Visit www.burjdubai.com. Emirates flies direct from Glasgow to Dubai from £537 return. Visit www.emirates.com.

February 12-28: Winter Olympics, Vancouver, Canada

Get your skates on to pick up tickets for the 21st Winter Olympics in Vancouver. With 86 events, Vancouver and Whistler – 78 miles north – are sharing sporting action aplenty. In between your hectic spectator’s schedule, set aside time to practise your parallel turns in Whistler. It is consistently ranked the number-one resort in North America and has hundreds of Olympic-standard slopes. The UK’s only official ticket agent, Sportsworld (01235 544404, www.sportsworld.co.uk), is offering a five-night Vancouver leisure package from £1930pp. Tickets for Olympic events start at £44.

March 17: St Patrick’s Day Parade, New York

Paint the town green on St Patrick’s Day in the Big Apple. Of all the annual parades in the city, this is the largest and most famous. Each year around two million people gather to watch 250,000 New Yorkers march up Fifth Avenue from 44th to 86th Street. After the parade, be sure (to be sure) to warm up with a Guinness at one of the city’s better Irish bars. Try McCormack’s at 365 Third Avenue (www.mccormacks.net) or Molly’s Shebeen Pub and Restaurant at 287 Third Avenue (www.mollysshebeen.com). British Airways flies from Glasgow to NYC in March from £363 return. Visit www.britishairways.com.

April 23-25: Perth 800 Film Festival, Perth

Perth is the new Cannes. Not exactly, but Perth like Cannes is hosting a film festival – to celebrate the 800th anniversary of its royal burgh status. The theme the Perth Film Society has chosen is city life because Perth hopes to restore its city status in 2012. Broadcaster and Channel 4 executive Stuart Cosgrove will be in his home town to introduce his favourite film, and a host of award-winning international films will be screened over the three days. Tickets per film only cost a fiver, so what’s to lose? Buy tickets nearer the time on the Perth Concert Hall website, www.horsecross.co.uk. Many other cultural and sporting events are taking place throughout the year to celebrate the anniversary. Visit www.perth800.com.

May 29: The Eurovision Song Contest 2010, Oslo

With Graham Norton taking over from presenting institution Sir Terry Wogan, the 55th song contest promises to be as camp as ever. There will be the usual kitsch ear-assaulting tunes and eye-assaulting tresses courtesy of competitors from 39 participating countries. You might even see the reinstatement of the orchestra – dropped in 1998 – after a Facebook campaign. Tickets for the contest at the Telenor Arena will go on sale in the coming weeks – visit www.eurovision.tv. Buy an Oslo Pass and get free travel on public transport, free admission to museums and sights, free parking in Oslo municipal car parks and discounts on car hire. Visit www.visitoslo.com/en.

June 11 to July 11 2010: FIFA World Cup, South Africa

Apply for tickets on the Fifa website and score your place at the 19th World Cup. Despite the Tartan Army’s best vocal efforts, Scotland did not make the competition. But you can always lend your support to our English friends or the USA, also in Group C. There are five ticket-selling phases, the third of which ends on January 22 – visit www.fifa.com. Spot the other kind of lion on a Thomson 12-day escorted tour of South Africa, which takes you to Kruger National Park, Johannesburg and Cape Town. Prices for the tour start at £2300pp based on two sharing. Visit www.thompsonsafrica.com.

June 23-27: Glastonbury, Somerset

With U2 headlining, Glastonbury’s 40th anniversary will be a festival to remember (or try to). In something of a greatest hits special, an artist from each year of the festival’s history is being invited to perform again. Rumours abound that Paul Simon, Pulp and Fleetwood Mac will be performing, though organisers have dismissed them. While tickets have already sold out, there will be another chance to buy tickets from cancelled orders early this year. For a chance to secure a last-minute ticket visit www.glastonburyregistration.co.uk.

June 25-27 2010: SPEA FIM Trial World Championship, Fort William

Dirt will fly as the world’s best motorcyclists descend on the tracks of Scotland for the first time since 1992. For two days the Nevis Range will play host to the best motorcycle trial competition series on the international stage. West Yorkshiremen Dougie Lampkin (last year’s world number six) and James Dabill will be revving up their engines for a win in this thrilling contest. The Alexandra Hotel in Fort William is offering B&B from £45pp. Call 01397 702241. Visit www.ukworldtrial.com.

July 14-17: Hebridean Celtic Festival, Stornoway

The 8000-strong population of Stornoway more than doubles every July as visitors from all over the world flock to Lewis to attend the festival. The line-up is yet to be announced for the 15th anniversary event, but previous acts have included The Proclaimers, Van Morrison and Runrig. Neighbouring Harris is also celebrating this year because is the centenary of Harris Tweed. To be classed as such the cloth must be spun, dyed, finished and woven in the Hebrides and bear the Orb symbol. Tickets for the 2010 festival cost £59. Visit www.hebceltfest.com.

August 30: Burning Man Festival, Nevada, United States

Pack the factor-50 sun cream or after eight days in the Black Rock Desert you’ll be the star attraction, the burning man (or woman). Traditionally he’s 40ft high and wooden, and is set alight to mark the end of the festivities. From humble beginnings in 1986 on a San Francisco beach with a handful of participants, Burning Man has grown into a yearly pilgrimage for thousands of open-minded and creative individuals. Last year 48,000 revellers converged on the desert to create Black Rock City and celebrate community, art, self-expression and self-reliance. Tickets, priced from $210 (about £130), go on sale on Wednesday. Visit www.burningman.com. American Airlines flies from London to Reno via Dallas from £549 return. Visit www.aa.com. Hire a car for the three-hour drive from Reno – visit www.rvrentalsofamerica.com.

September 12: Grand Sumo Tournament, Tokyo

Feel better about your flabby bits by watching giant men haul each other around a ring – all in the name of a modern Japanese martial art. Wrestlers, who live on vast lunches of stew with fish, meat, vegetables and rice washed down with beer, weigh 326lbs on average. Because of their diet, they often die 10 years younger than the average Japanese citizen, but being crowned with the prestigious title of Yokozuna – grand champion – and winning prize money and sponsorship must be worth the sacrifice. Inside Japan has nine nights in Tokyo, Kyoto and Hakone including return flights from Glasgow, a ticket for the tournament and rail travel between the cities from £1885pp based on two sharing. Visit insidejapantours.com or call 0117 3144620.

October 12: inaugural sail of The Queen Elizabeth, Southampton

Queen Elizabeth is going on holiday for the first time. The newly built 90,400-ton, 179ft-tall QE liner, that is, not the grandmother of Princes William and Harry. Setting out from Southampton, the QE will call at Vigo, Lisbon, Seville, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma and Madeira on her inaugural voyage. The liner, part of the Cunard fleet, was built at the Monfalcone shipyard of Fincantieri near Trieste, Italy, and took two years to build at a cost of £400m. Externally it looks similar to its sister, Queen Victoria, and can carry 2092 passengers. The ship is named after the QE liner built by John Brown And Company in Clydebank in the 1930s. Launched from the Clyde in 1938, it was the largest passenger liner ever built, a record it held for 56 years. The interior of the QE is inspired by the original as well as other great liners of the 1920s and 1930s, offering guests a glamorous art deco interior with double- and triple-height public rooms filled with chandeliers, mosaics, wood panelling and marble. The QE will also feature entertainment inspired by the roaring twenties. During the day guests can play paddle tennis, croquet and bowls, then jitterbug and jive the night away. As successor to the QE2, the QE will display artwork and memorabilia of her famous sister. The QE2, the last of the great ocean liners, was retired in 2008. The QE will have her own version of the Yacht Club, the QE2’s famous space where guests could dance the night away. It will also feature a Midships Bar like on the original QE. When tickets for the maiden voyage went on sale last April they sold out in 29 minutes and 14 seconds, making it the fastest first sale in Cunard’s 170-year history. Tickets are still available for the second cruise of the QE’s maiden voyage season, departing on October 25 to Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Cartagena and Gibraltar. Fares start at £2231pp. Visit www.cunard.co.uk or call 0845 678 0013. If cruising on new ships is your thing you could also take a trip on the Oasis of the Seas, launched in November by Royal Caribbean as the world’s largest and most revolutionary cruise ship. Visit www.royalcaribbeanoasisoftheseas.com.

November 18-21: Pushkar Camel Fair, India

Looking for a good deal on a camel? No? Still, it’s worth heading to the tiny town of Pushkar on the edge of the Thar Desert in Rajasthan just to see, hear and smell 50,000 of them packed into a small space. Originally traders travelled to Pushkar to sell camels and cattle during the holy Kartik Purnima festival. Now traders and tourists in their thousands converge on the town each year, turning the event into one of India’s most popular, chaotic and noisy attractions. For five days camels are traded, raced and even entered into beauty contests. For non-camel entertainment there are snake charmers, musicians and dancers. See the spectacle from above on a hot-air balloon flight with Sky Waltz (visit www.skywaltz.com) from $400 per person (about £250). Gap Adventures has an eight-day adventure package to the fair from £599pp. Visit www.gapadventures.com or call 0844 410 1030.

December 3: The War of The Worlds, SECC, Glasgow

They’re perhaps not the likeliest pairing, but Jason Donovan and Atomic Kitten’s Liz McClarnon are to star in an adaptation of HG Wells’ classic novel. They join a musical cast who have been touring the musical version of War Of The Worlds since 2006. The stage production is based on the musical written by Jeff Wayne, which has sold 15m copies and won two Ivor Novello awards since its release in 1978. Wayne’s album is based on Wells’ novel about an alien invasion of Victorian England. Justin Hayward, who appeared on Wayne’s original album, will star alongside Donovan and McClarnon. For tickets, priced £42.50-60, visit www.thewaroftheworlds.com.