19 reasons to feel cheerful about 2019

A new year brings endless possibilities. What books will we be reading? What films will we see? Which albums will soundtrack our 12 months and when will our favourite TV shows be back on the air?

Don't panic, we've got you covered. Here are the biggest and best things we've got to look forward to in 2019, including a new look Radio 2 schedule!

The year starts with Zoe Ball taking the helm of the UK's most-listened to radio programme. She'll host Radio 2's Breakfast Show, 6:30-9:30am, Monday to Friday, from 14 January.

On being announced as the new Breakfast host, Zoe has said: "I'm absolutely thrilled to be following in the giant footsteps of Chris Evans as the host of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show. To be the first woman to present this very special show is both an honour and privilege."

• Read more on Zoe Ball taking over the Radio 2 Breakfast Show

In other schedule changes, Sara Cox will present a new weekday early evening show, Mon to Fri, 5-7pm, followed by a new show from Jo Whiley, Mon to Thu, 7-9pm. And X-Factor star turned radio and TV presenter, Rylan Clark-Neal joins Radio 2 to host a Saturday afternoon show, 3-6pm.

• 5 reality TV stars who became household names

Meanwhile, Trevor Nelson's Rhythm Nation, the soundtrack to Saturday evenings for the last few years, is expanding to four nights a week - Mon-Thu, 10pm-midnight, offering up soul, RnB, dance, disco and reggae hits to bring the day to a satisfying conclusion.

Other highlights to look forward to on Radio 2 include the return of the 500 Words story-writing competition for children, Will Young with a new series of his Essential R&B, and coverage of the C2C festival (more on that later).

And that's just Radio 2. Over on 6 Music, from Mon 7 Jan, Lauren Laverne takes over the Breakfast Show chair, Mary Anne Hobbs hosts a new mid-moring show, 10.30am-1pm, Shaunk Keaveny moves to afternoons, 1-4pm, and former Radio 2 duo Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie will host weekend breakfast.

After taking a year off to rest and recuperate, the nation's most colourful festival is back again in June, and it has already confirmed two powerful bookings, bound to be among the event's major talking points. Kylie Minogue is appearing on the Sunday teatime "legends" slot, following in the footsteps of Dolly Parton, Barry Gibb and Tom Jones.

• Radio 2's A-Z of Kylie special airs on Christmas Day from 4pm

The sole headline act confirmed so far is grime king Stormzy, who has played the festival only once before: on the Other Stage in 2017. He dedicated that set to his mother, declaring on stage: "Hey, mumzy, look at your boy now".

News of Stormzy's momentous booking (the last hip hop artist to headline Glastonbury was Kanye West in 2015) was announced via a poster in an Oxfam shop in Streatham, near to Stormzy's childhood home.

Of course there are tons of rumours circulating as to who the other headliners may be. The bookies claim Liam Gallagher and Arctic Monkeys are the front-runners, but while Emily Eavis has quashed the gossip around Madonna, Led Zeppelin or Fleetwood Mac, she has also stated they want to get Paul McCartney back. And Cher's on tour (see below), so who knows? Emily told NME: "Headliners should be the best artists around – whether they’re rappers, pop stars or rock bands. The genre is irrelevant – it’s about who is going to produce the most exciting show and is making the best music.”

As well as the likes of Reading + Leeds, Lovebox, Latitude and Camp Bestival, keep an eye out for news on Radio 2's annual festival in a day in Hyde Park. Here's how 2018 went, complete with Kylie.

One of the least likely band reunions, ABBA are set to work on new material, with a TV special expected in 2019. There will also be a tour... of sorts. The live show will feature hologram versions of the band's four members, using footage from the group's heyday.

The mooted digital tour (the performers have already been nicknamed 'ABBAtars') is one of a few hologram experiences set to hit stages. A digitally rendered Roy Orbison has already done the rounds, and there are plans for an Amy Winehouse tour too.

Some of pop's biggest stars are heading on tour in 2019. Take That are celebrating their 30th anniversary with a Greatest Hits stint in the spring, four out of the five Spice Girls (sans Victoria Beckham) will reunite live from May onwards, while Elton John will continue his 'Farewell Yellow Brick Road' tour (it kicked off in September 2018). Elton's final tour stretches all the way to 2021, but UK dates take place in June 2019.

• 6 things we'll probably see at Elton John's farewell tour

And Cher due in the UK for live gigs in the autumn. Here are just a few reasons to get excited about her imminent arrival.

Simon Cowell's talent show empire has spread all over the world, but until now he hasn't graced the BBC. That's about to change. The Greatest Dancer is a new eight-part series for BBC One, broadcast at 8pm on Saturday nights from January 5. The show aims to find the country's best dancers in any field, from ballet to Bollywood, tango to tap. The judges will be Cheryl, Matt Morrison from Glee, and Strictly's Oti Mabuse, with the show presented by Alesha Dixon - Strictly Come Dancing winner in 2007 - and Jordan Banjo from the dance troupe Diversity.

Idris Elba will return as DCI John Luther on New Year's Day in the fifth instalment of the gritty BBC One crime drama. It's a four-part series, which will go out at 9pm on BBC One from 1 to 4 January. It's the first time we've seen Idris Elba don DCI John Luther's tweedy coat in earnest since 2015, with only a brief return in 2016 for a Comic Relief skit.

In the meantime there has been tantalising talk of a Luther film, but in the end the programme returned home to TV, where it started. You can find out more when Jo Whiley meets Idris Elba, on Radio 2 (listen from 7pm, Boxing Day).

And speaking of Comic Relief...

Red Nose Day is back on 15 March 2019, and we're in store for something rather special. The cast of Four Weddings and a Funeral are to reunite for the first time in 25 years for a new short film, written by Richard Curtis. Titled One Red Nose Day and a Wedding, it will star Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell and Kristin Scott Thomas, and follow the fortunes of the characters from the original film some 25 years on.

"We're all definitely older - I suspect no wiser," Curtis has said. "It's been really enjoyable working out what's happened to all the characters. Now they get back together for the fifth wedding, where, as usual, not everything will go as planned."

2019 will mark 50 years since one of the most iconic moments in modern history - when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon and Armstrong uttered those immortal words: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". First Man, the recent film biopic with Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, alongside Claire Foy as wife Janet, is already shortlisted for a number of Oscars, and we can expect a lot more coverage of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission on July 20.

Meanwhile, 6 Music celebrate the 50th anniversary of 1969's Apollo 8 mission, which marked the first manned orbit of the moon, with A Brief History of Apollo 8 (listen from 6am, Fri 21 Dec), hosted by Chris Hawkins and Public Service Broadcasting's J Willgoose Esq.

And of course, if it's 50 years since the moon landing, that means...

In July 2019 it will have been 50 years since David Bowie's breakthrough hit, the eerie tale of the alienated astronaut, Major Tom. To celebrate the arrival of one of music's most iconic talents, Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night will celebrate David Bowie, featuring Bowie interpreter and Broadway star Tony Vincent, together with the BBC Concert Orchestra and full rock band, performing some of the starman's most famous hits.

Elsewhere, BBC Four will be broadcasting the third and final of its Five Years Bowie documentary, looking at his early struggles to make headway in the music business. David Bowie: The First Five Years will air in July.

The 64th Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Tel Aviv, Israel - after Netta's song Toy won in 2018 - with the semi-finals on 14 and 16 May, and the final two days later. Currently there are 42 countries lining up to take part - although Bulgaria has already opted out, for the first time in four years (citing "financial reasons").

To revamp the process of choosing entrants from the UK, the BBC has announced that the selection process will involve three shortlisted songs being performed by two different artists, taking very different approaches to each track. These pairs will be pitted against each other, with the winner picked by an international jury, and then the best version of each song being put to a public vote. Eurovision: You Decide will be screened in February on BBC Two, and hosted by Mel Giedroyc and Måns Zelmerlöw, Sweden's winner from 2015.

Netflix's The Crown has been one of the biggest TV hits of the past few years, with Claire Foy and Matt Smith playing Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in a dramatised version of the early years of their marriage and Her Majesty's reign. Season three is on the way, expected at some point in 2019 and moving the story forward in time, bringing with it a change of cast.

Olivia Colman - fast on her way to national treasure status - takes over as HM The Queen, as the series moves into the 1960s and onwards. Elsewhere, Tobias Menzies takes over as Prince Philip, Helena Bonham Carter joins the cast as Princess Margaret, while Josh O’Connor will play Prince Charles and Emerald Fennell appears as Camilla Parker Bowles.

Other highly-anticipated 2019 TV moments include the final season of Game of Thrones, season three of retro-tastic sci-fi show Stranger Things, Jenna Coleman returning to her throne in Victoria, and the second series of one of this year's most highly regarded shows - Killing Eve.

Live action remakes of classic animated films are having a big moment right now (we’ve already been treated to Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and The Jungle Book), and surely the one people are really waiting for is Jon Favreau's all-new take on The Lion King, starring Beyoncé, Donald Glover, and John Oliver. It arrives on 19 July, making it certain to be a massive summer must-watch.

But if that seems like an impossibly long time to wait, the good news is that Tim Burton's Dumbo movie - starring Colin Farrell, Eva Green and Michael Keaton - is out in March, while Guy Ritchie's Aladdin remake is out in May.

And while we're on the topic of films...

Everyone loves a sequel, right? And there will be a huge amount of follow-up films in 2019. Pixar's first great hit story that will perhaps cause the biggest ripples of them all. After making what are commonly agreed to be three near-perfect Toy Story movies, the production company has plumped for a fourth. Not much is known about the story as yet, except the main cast - Tom Hanks, Tim Allen - are signed up and it's coming out in June.

Other big sequels coming include The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part in February, Men in Black International (not starring Will Smith, sadly) in June, Frozen 2 in November, Jumanji 2 in December and the emperor of all the mega-franchises, Star Wars, ends the year with the as-yet-untitled Episode IX, which is directed by JJ Abrams.

There's nothing confirmed as yet, but there's a lot of buzz about the possibility that Adele may be getting some new music ready for release in 2019, possibly by Christmas. There's no title yet (although we'd put our money on it being numerical once again) but reports say that the Tottenham-born star has "already penned some of the songs".

And she's far from being the only topic of music-based gossip. Madonna is said to be putting the finishing touches on a new album and Coldplay are apparently working on new material to be released soon. And Sound of 2019 longlister Grace Carter - fresh from her recent appearance on Jo Whiley and Simon Mayo's show - will be releasing her debut next year too.

In actual concrete news, Backstreet Boys have an album called DNA scheduled for release in January and David Gray and Dido have albums set for release on the same day two months later on March 8. The latter are called Gold in a Brass Age and Still on My Mind, respectively.

After England football fans' hopes were so dramatically raised in the World Cup last summer, it's all go again in 2019. Firstly, England Women will head out to bring football home in the Women's World Cup in France, running from June to July. Also in June, the England men's football team will be taking part in the Nation's League finals. The Netherlands stand in the way of a first major final since 1966. Expect Gareth Southgate to be donning an iconic waistcoat once more.

UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying will also kick off from March, with England and Scotland already guaranteed a play-off place. Wales, meanwhile, are up against the likes of Croatia and Slovakia, while Northern Ireland have a tough group featuring Germany and the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland compete against Switzerland, Denmark and more.

Other sporting delights to look forward to in 2019 include the Cricket World Cup, to be held in England, another glorious Wimbledon, before the Rugby World Cup, which is hosted by Japan in September.

Oprah Winfrey knows a thing or two about books, having hosted the world's most successful book club. She's releasing The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life's Direction and Purpose in March. It's a collection of inspiring thoughts about working out exactly who you are and what you want to do, and it's been designed to look as pretty as it is useful.

Some of the other notable big releases in 2019 include Margaret Atwood's The Testaments, a sequel to her dystopian feminist classic The Handmaid's Tale, comedian Sofie Hagen's Happy Fat, in which she seeks to challenge common misconceptions about weight and body shame, plus Toni Morrison has a novel called The Source of Self-Regard. Ian McEwan's Machines Like Me, meanwhile, continues the alternative reality theme, setting his love story in a 1980s Britain where Alan Turing has achieved a breakthrough in artificial intelligence.

In more exciting book news, Radio 2 Book Club, which throughout the year will feature discussions on new books and interviews with authors, will have a new home in Radio 2’s Jo Whiley show.

Only Fools and Horses is getting the West End treatment, thanks to Paul Whitehouse - who plays Grandad - Tom Bennett (Del Boy) and Ryan Hutton (Rodney). It will also have songs by Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan, son of the show’s creator John (who passed away in 2011), with additional music by the great Chas Hodges, who wrote the original theme tune, and whose songs for the show were among the last things he did before he died this year. The show opens - not "this time next year" - but in February.

It's by no means the only musical arrival in London for 2019 either. On Your Feet! is the Broadway musical based on the music of Gloria Estefan and her husband Emilio. That's transferring to London in June. There's a musical based around the acclaimed 1983 film Local Hero on the way too, plus theatrical presentations of the Disney classic Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

Rob Brydon, Lee Mack and David Mitchell, the much-loved comedians who spend a good deal of their time bickering about what is and what isn't true on Would I Lie To You?, are embarking on a joint tour in September. You've seen how convincingly they can spin a story, now you can expect "an evening of chat, comedy and general messing around".

Ben Elton is also touring in 2019, fresh from his success writing BBC Two's Shakespearian sitcom Upstart Crow, and so is Danny Baker, whose long and rambling evenings of stories are never the same twice. He's touring in May under the banner Good Time Charlie's Back. And a surprise entry to the comedy listings is I'm a Celebrity... runner-up Emily Atack, who is touring her first comedy show in April, entitled Talk Thirty to Me.

Keep an eye out for more comedy later in 2019, with the return of Radio 2's Funny Fortnight, which in 2018 gave us Jeremy Vine: Agony Uncle (back for a Christmas special, from 9pm, Christmas Eve).

Last but certainly not least, C2C: Country to Country will return to London's O2 Arena over three nights from 8–10 March 2019, and once more highlights will be broadcast on Radio 2 with Bob Harris - Bob himself a vital supporter of the burgeoning British country scene.

Keith Urban is headlining, as are Lady Antebellum and Chris Stapleton, with able support from Brett Eldredge, Hunter Hayes and Lyle Lovett. In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears on Bob Harris Country for more news about our C2C programming.

For the best music, chat, guests, live performance, and special programmes, to guide you through the year, keep tuned to Radio 2 on BBC Sounds.

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