What's new in 2024? The big hits the GH team will be watching, reading and listening to

From TV powerhouse Sally Wainwright's big comeback this spring (her eight-part series, Renegade Nell will stream on Disney+), to the return of the Olympics in the summer and The National Gallery's once-in-a-lifetime Van Gogh exhibition (Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers) come Autumn; there are plenty of cultural highlights worth a place in your 2024 diary.

With so much to feast your eyes upon, take some inspiration from the Good Housekeeping team who've shared the shows, tickets, destinations that they're most excited about in the next 12 months...

Soundtrack to summer: Taylor Swift and Girls Aloud

Could 2024 be the year of pop? GH's Managing Director, Liz Moseley, and Deputy Multiplatform Editor, Susanne Norris, certainly think so.

While Susanne will be travelling to Warsaw, Poland to watch Taylor Swift's highly-anticipated Eras tour as it makes its way to Europe - "This will be the year Taylor takes the world by storm (if she hadn’t already) and I can’t wait to witness it in my sequins and cowboy boots!" - UK fans will also have the chance to see Taylor perform in Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cardiff and London.

Or for a slice of noughties nostalgia, Liz points to girlbands Sugababes and Girls Aloud, who are also be taking the stage this summer.

"Ditch all thoughts of boring muso credibility and get involved with one of the pop star mega tours happening this year," says Liz.

"If you couldn’t bring yourself to stump up for Taylor Swift’s all conquering Eras tour, get a gang together and get yourselves along to Girls Aloud, Olivia Rodrigo or Take That, all touring arenas nationwide, or see Sugababes with Melanie C headlining Nocturne at Blenheim Palace in June."

Must-see theatre: The Merchant of Venice 1936 and Dr Strangelove

When it comes to theatre, we'll be spoiled for choice in 2024. As Susanne puts it, "There’s so much amazing theatre scheduled — from Sarah Jessica Parker’s West End debut in Plaza Suite to Studio Ghibli’s production of Spirited Away for the stage — that it’s hard to focus on a single highlight."

But the one production at the top of Susanne's list? The Merchant of Venice 1936, which will show from January to March in Stratford-Upon-Avon and London.

"A powerful adaptation of the classic Shakespeare play, it follows Tracey-Ann Oberman as a female Shylock — depicting a Jewish matriarch against the background of the Battle of Cable Street in 1936," she says.

Credit: Marc Brenner

Meanwhile, Liz has her sights set on Dr Strangelove, the stage production of Stanley Kubrick’s iconic movie. Starring Steve Coogan, it will come to London's Noel Coward Theatre in October.

"The buzz around this show – described as a “jet black comedy masterpiece, about a rogue U.S. General who triggers a nuclear crisis” - is not only because of its timeliness but that the adaptation has been done by Armando Iannucci, famous for his blistering satire such as The Thick of It and Veep," says Liz.

The series that will have you hooked: One Day, Netflix

Few authors can include their book becoming a multi-million copy bestseller on their CV - and even fewer will see their fiction brought to life on the big screen.

But 2024 will be a treasure trove for TV adaptions, from Colleen Hoover's It Ends With Us to Candice Carty-Williams' Queenie. Among the gems yet to come, Senior Celebrity Writer, Georgia Green, is most looking forward to the TV series of David Nicholls’ One Day, arriving on Netflix in February.

"Like many people, the book is up there as one of my all-time favourites," she says. "I can’t wait to see This Is Going To Hurt’s Ambika Mod and The White Lotus’ Leo Woodall bring everyone’s favourite will-they-won’t-they couple, Emma and Dexter, to life (with tissues at the ready)."

Credit: Netflix

The art to soak up: National Gallery’s Bicentenary and Outi Pieski at Tate St Ives

Whether you're a fan of satire, or you have a taste for oil paintings, 2024 is packed with awe-inspiring art.

"All eyes will be on Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers at The National Gallery this year (which will bring together some of Van Gogh's most loved and rarely-seen paintings from around the globe), but there are showstoppers up and down the country. From Sweet Dreams at Manchester's new Factory International to Angelica Kauffman at The Royal Academy," says Deputy Features Editor, Bella Evennett-Watts.

"The exhibition I think looks most intriguing is Outi Pieski's exploration of identity, culture and environment at Tate St Ives in May - it will be the Sámi visual artist's first large-scale exhibition in the UK.

"If you can't make that one in time, then Mark Rothko's Seagram murals will be showing just weeks later, until January 2025. What better than enormous, dramatic artworks set against the bold landscape of the British coast?"

Outi Pieski, Beavvit, Rising Together II, 2021, detail. © The artists. Photo: Tor Simen Ulstein / KUNSTDOK

Meanwhile, GH's Deputy Editor, Emma Justice, is looking forward to a year of country-wide celebrations.

"I’m really excited about the National Gallery’s Bicentenary this year," she says. "As part of the celebrations, they’ll be taking 12 of their masterpieces out of London and around the UK giving more people the opportunity to enjoy them.

"With each exhibition opening on the same day - 10 May, the 200^th anniversary of the gallery’s original opening in London - you’ll be able to see Constable’s The Hay Wain in Bristol, Monet’s The Water-Lily Pond in York and Renoir’s The Umbrella in Leicester, amongst other National Treasures."

Why not make it a staycation? "I’m thinking of booking weekend breaks to see them, as well as different parts of the country," adds Emma.

Your next big page-turner: You Are Here (Hodder & Stoughton) by David Nicholls

If 2024 wasn't a big enough year for David Nicholls, he's also publishing a new novel - one that Consumer Affairs Director and Books Editor, Joanne Finney, can't wait to devour.

"It’s been a long five years since Nicholls’ last novel so I couldn’t more excited about this new book, a love story about two lonely people who get together over the course of a cross-country trek," she says. "It promises to have the same emotional punch and poignancy as previous best-sellers One Day and Us."

An international hotspot for food: Georgia, U.S.

Senior Cookery writer, Grace Evans, has set her sights on Savannah, Georgia, where a former-bus-terminal-turned-restaurant takes top spot on her radar:

"This October, I am travelling to the city of Savannah in Georgia. I'm excited for many reasons, the food scene being my top one," says Grace. "There is one restaurant in particular that I cannot wait to try; The Grey.

"Since watching Mashama Bailey’s episode of ‘Chef’s Table’ on Netflix, I have been wanting to try her take on Southern food at The Grey, so October couldn’t come sooner!"

A promising sequel: Joker: Folie à Deux (In cinemas from 4 October).

When a film reaches cult-status, creating a follow-up worthy of winning over audiences all over again is no mean feat. So, five years on after Joker became a cult film and scooped multiple awards, the stakes are high for the new instalment.

"I’m all too familiar with disappointing sequels, but I’ve got high hopes for the return of Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in the follow-up to 2019's Joker," says Group Celebrity Director, Nathalie Whittle. "With Todd Phillips back in the director’s chair, Lady Gaga playing psychiatrist-turned-love-interest Harley Quinn and double the budget of the first film, it’s got future awards contender written all over it."

The under-the-radar festival: Kala

Lost out on Glastonbury tickets for yet another year? Or maybe the prerequisite rain means a U.K festival is off your summer bucket list? According to Assistant Features Editor, Bethan Rose Jenkins, the festival you should be buying tickets for is Kala.

"Who said anniversaries are only for couples? To celebrate 10 wonderful, messy, joyful years of friendship, me and my pals are jetting off to Kala in June, the week-long beach festival which launched in 2022," says Bethan.

"Forget the muddy fields and soggy tents of UK festivals, a ticket to Kala includes a stay in a 3, 4 or 5* hotel, with DJs on the beach every night and the option to join sunrise yoga, hiking trips and more each day.

"Situated on the ‘Albanian Riviera’ strip of coastline north of Corfu, you get all the sandy scenery and turquoise waters of Greece – without the price tag."

A culinary delight: Vault Aperitivo, Essex

From Tillingham Winery in Rye, East Sussex to West London's Sipsmith distillery and Camden Town Brewery, the UK's boastful CV of drinks destinations proves why you needn't venture further afield to quench your thirst - or to partake in a workshop.

Perhaps it's no surprise then that Senior Food & Drink Writer, Mel Giandzi, will continue to look locally for culinary culture in 2024.

"Reducing my carbon footprint is really important to me and something I've actively been prioritising for the past few years," she says. "This means I try to shop for food and drink products as local as possible.

"I've found some really great British brands and most recently have been introduced to Vault Aperitivo, a modern aperitivo distillery based in Essex who specialise in vermouth and botanical aperitifs, using freshly foraged local ingredients that give their products a beautiful taste.

"A vermouth on ice (or with a splash of soda water) has always been one of my go-to drinks and now I'll be making the swap with a local, British brand."

We'll raise a glass to that!