The Scotsman's Big Quiz of 2024: The ultimate knowledge test from politics to showbiz

It’s time to put your thinking caps on and time to test your knowledge with our annual 100-question quiz for 2025

Think you know your showbiz or are completely across all things politics? What about world news? Some questions are easy, others are ridiculously hard, and a few are frankly impossible. Good luck!

Around Scotland

1. What is the name of the hugely delayed ferry that CalMac hopes will start carrying passengers in early 2025?

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2. A baby red panda died at Edinburgh Zoo in November. What was given as the cause of death?

3. Which stand-up comic to win the Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award in March?

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4. What would be the new speed limit on single carriageway rural roads under Scottish Government proposals?

5. Which TV and radio presenter reached Glasgow in November to complete an epic Children In Need cycling challenge after riding almost 300 miles from Wales to Scotland on a Raleigh Chopper bike?

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6. Which seat went from the safest in Scotland to the most marginal after the general election?

7. Whose veteran carriages found new life as a children's nursery classroom, cafe and artists' studios?

8. What is the name of the new £55 million surf resort that opened just outside Edinburgh in November?

9. What event held in Glasgow in February became a viral sensation after children were given a half cup of lemonade and two jelly beans each for attending?

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10. What happened to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports this year?

Politics

1. The SNP were routed on election night, but managed to add two MPs. Name either of them.

2. Former SNP deputy Westminster leader Mhairi Black performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in a three-star show. What was it called?

Mhairi Black's debut run at the Fringe was met with resounding successMhairi Black's debut run at the Fringe was met with resounding success
Mhairi Black's debut run at the Fringe was met with resounding success

3. Which country was Alex Salmond attending a conference in when he died of a heart attack, aged 69, in October?

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4. What important event did Rishi Sunak leave early, putting the final nail in his general election campaign?

5. Name the politician who sparked bemusement by talking about her dislike of lunch.

6. Which Taylor Swift song did SNP leader John Swinney claim was his favourite during the general election campaign?

7. Now Labour MP Josh Simons was forced to apologise in February for saying the UK government should put smuggler gangs on a barge and send them where?

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8. Who was the first member of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Cabinet to resign?

9. Which SNP minister attracted controversy this year after being chauffeured to a film premiere in a ministerial car?

10. Humza Yousaf became Scotland's second shortest serving first minister when he formally resigned in May. Who retains the record?

Around the world

1. Who was named as Time magazine’s person of the year for 2024?

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2. Denmark’s King Frederik X was proclaimed monarch on January 14, but in which country was his wife Queen Mary born?

3. Passengers of which airline had a dramatic flight when a door-sized panel blew off their Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft in January, forcing an emergency landing in the US?

4. Greece became the first Orthodox Christian country to legalise what in February?

5. What happened to the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in the US in March?

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6. Where did Americans Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams become stuck in June?

7. Which US state was Donald Trump visiting when he was shot in the ear during a presidential campaign visit in July?

Donald Trump on election night. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesDonald Trump on election night. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Donald Trump on election night. Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

8. Police in Australia recovered more than 40,000 stolen limited-edition coins based on which hit children’s TV show in October?

9. President Yoon Suk Yeol attempted to impose what in South Korea earlier this month?

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10. Israeli forces seized control of what leading into Egypt in May after Hamas announced they were accepting a ceasefire proposal?

Sport

1. Who will Andy Murray coach at next year's Australian Open?

2. Who won this year's golf Scottish Open?

3. What colour of medal did Josh Kerr take in the 2024 1500m Olympic final?

Josh Kerr will fly the flag for Scotland.Josh Kerr will fly the flag for Scotland.
Josh Kerr will fly the flag for Scotland. | Getty Images

4. Who became Celtic's record signing with an £11 million move in August?

5. Who scored Scotland's two goals at Euro 2024?

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6. Which Scotland internationalist is leaving Glasgow Warriors to join Bristol Bears in 2025?

7. Where will the 2025 women's European football championships be held?

8. Who did Glasgow Warriors beat to win the URC Grand Final in 2024?

9. Where will the 2025 Ryder Cup be played?

10. Who defeated Josh Taylor in a boxing bout in Leeds in May 2024?

In the arts

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1. What Shakespearean character did award-winning stage and screen star Ralph Fiennes play in a temporary theatre created at the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh in January?

2. Which Scottish literary character did Coronation Street star Gray O'Brien step into the shoes off in a new stage play in September?

3. Who won the main Edinburgh Comedy Award in August?

4. Which film was screened outdoors and accompanied by a live performance by the RSNO at Edinburgh Castle esplanade in July?

5. Which Scottish singer-songwriter revealed in March that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease?

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6. Which book by the late Scottish writer Alasdair Gray was adapted into a feature film that won four Academy Awards in March?

7. Which actor was unveiled as the new artistic director of Pitlochry Festival Theatre in September?

8. Which best-selling novel that starts and finishes in Edinburgh was turned into a hit Netflix series that launched in February?

9. Which Scottish comedian who died in 2021 was honoured in the hit Edinburgh Festival Fringe comedy show Chemo Savvy?

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10. How many concerts did Taylor Swift perform at t