Review of the year quiz 2026

Sixty review of the year quiz questions for 2026 with answers, in six rounds: the news, film and TV, music, the World Cup, sport and record breakers.

Last reviewed 4 November 2026

Sixty questions on 2026

Six rounds of ten, covering January to the start of November: the news, film and TV, music, the World Cup, the rest of the sport, and a round of record breakers. The answer is under each question, with a little extra detail where the detail settles arguments.

Every answer was checked against a published report before it went on this page, most of them from the organisers' own sites. The main sources are listed at the bottom.

Round one: the news

Politics, royals and space. Nothing here needs an opinion on any of it, only a memory of the headlines.

1
Who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 20 July 2026?
Answer: Andy Burnham
2
Keir Starmer resigned as Labour leader in June 2026, days after a by-election in which constituency?
Answer: Makerfield, won by Andy Burnham
3
Who became First Minister of Wales in May 2026, the first from outside the Labour Party?
Answer: Rhun ap Iorwerth, the leader of Plaid Cymru
4
Which party won the most seats in the Scottish Parliament election in May 2026?
Answer: The SNP, with 58 of the 129 seats
5
Which prime minister lost Hungary's election in April 2026, after sixteen years in a row in power?
Answer: Viktor Orban
6
On a state visit for America's 250th anniversary in April 2026, King Charles became the first British king to address which body?
Answer: A joint meeting of the US Congress
7
Which former Google executive was named Director-General of the BBC in March 2026?
Answer: Matt Brittin
8
Which NASA mission flew four astronauts around the Moon in April 2026, farther from Earth than anyone had been before?
Answer: Artemis II
9
What did the Artemis II crew name their Orion spacecraft?
Answer: Integrity
10
The total solar eclipse of 12 August 2026 was the first to cross mainland Europe since which year?
Answer: 1999. Totality crossed Iceland and Spain, and Britain saw a deep partial eclipse.

Round two: film and TV

Awards season and the shows people talked about at work. The Oscars questions are some of the easiest in the quiz.

11
Which film won Best Picture at the Oscars in March 2026?
Answer: One Battle After Another
12
Who won Best Director at the 2026 Oscars?
Answer: Paul Thomas Anderson, for One Battle After Another
13
Jessie Buckley won the 2026 Best Actress Oscar for playing Agnes, Shakespeare's wife. Name the film.
Answer: Hamnet
14
Michael B. Jordan won the 2026 Best Actor Oscar for which film?
Answer: Sinners
15
The song Golden won the 2026 Oscar for Best Original Song. Which animated film is it from?
Answer: KPop Demon Hunters, which also won Best Animated Feature
16
Who hosted the 2026 Oscars?
Answer: Conan O'Brien
17
Which actor won both Leading Actor and the Rising Star award at the 2026 BAFTAs, for the film I Swear?
Answer: Robert Aramayo
18
Rachel Duffy and Stephen Libby won series four of which BBC One show in January 2026?
Answer: The Traitors. They were the first pair of Traitors to win the UK series.
19
Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe were named in May 2026 as the new presenters of which show?
Answer: Strictly Come Dancing, replacing Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman
20
Which film took a record $360 million in its opening weekend in North America in 2026?
Answer: Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Round three: music

From the first number one of the year to the Mercury Prize in October.

21
Which festive song was the first UK number one single of 2026?
Answer: Last Christmas by Wham!
22
Which Harry Styles single went straight in at number one in the UK at the end of January 2026?
Answer: Aperture
23
Who won four BRIT Awards in February 2026, including Artist of the Year?
Answer: Olivia Dean
24
Who hosted the 2026 BRIT Awards?
Answer: Jack Whitehall
25
Who headlined the half-time show at Super Bowl LX in February 2026?
Answer: Bad Bunny
26
Which country won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 2026?
Answer: Bulgaria, with Dara's Bangaranga
27
Which city hosted Eurovision 2026?
Answer: Vienna
28
Who represented the UK at Eurovision 2026, finishing last with one point?
Answer: Look Mum No Computer, with Eins, Zwei, Drei
29
Which Sam Fender duet became the longest-running number one in UK chart history in 2026?
Answer: Rein Me In, with Olivia Dean
30
Who won the 2026 Mercury Prize?
Answer: RAYE, for This Music May Contain Hope

Round four: the World Cup

The summer in one round, with England's run and Scotland's return both in it.

31
Which country won the 2026 World Cup?
Answer: Spain, who beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time
32
Who scored the only goal of the 2026 World Cup final?
Answer: Ferran Torres, in the 106th minute
33
At which stadium was the 2026 World Cup final played?
Answer: MetLife Stadium, in New Jersey
34
England beat which team 4-2 in their first match of the tournament?
Answer: Croatia
35
England beat which team after extra time in the quarter-finals?
Answer: Norway, 2-1
36
Which country knocked England out in the semi-finals?
Answer: Argentina, 2-1 in Atlanta
37
England beat France 6-4 in the third-place play-off. Who scored a hat-trick?
Answer: Bukayo Saka
38
Scotland won a World Cup match for the first time since 1990. Who did they beat?
Answer: Haiti, 1-0, with a goal from John McGinn
39
Who won the Golden Boot, the first player ever to win it twice?
Answer: Kylian Mbappe, with 10 goals
40
Who won the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament?
Answer: Rodri

Round five: sport

The rest of the sporting year, from the darts in January to the Ballon d'Or in October.

41
Who did Luke Littler beat in the final of the World Darts Championship in January 2026?
Answer: Gian van Veen, 7-1
42
By what score did Australia win the 2025-26 Ashes?
Answer: 4-1
43
Which team won Super Bowl LX in February 2026?
Answer: The Seattle Seahawks, who beat the New England Patriots 29-13
44
Which club won the 2025-26 Premier League, their first title for 22 years?
Answer: Arsenal
45
Which country won the 2026 men's Six Nations, sealed with a last-kick penalty against England?
Answer: France, who won that match 48-46 in Paris
46
Which horse won the 2026 Cheltenham Gold Cup?
Answer: Gaelic Warrior
47
Who won the World Snooker Championship in May 2026, beating Shaun Murphy 18-17 in the final?
Answer: Wu Yize
48
Who won the 2026 Wimbledon men's singles title?
Answer: Jannik Sinner, who beat Alexander Zverev in the final
49
Which New Zealander won The Open at Royal Birkdale in July 2026?
Answer: Ryan Fox
50
Who became the first Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or since Michael Owen, in October 2026?
Answer: Harry Kane

Round six: record breakers

Firsts, bests and youngests. A good last round, because a near miss on a record still gets a table talking.

51
Who ran the first marathon under two hours in an official race, in London in April 2026?
Answer: Sabastian Sawe, of Kenya, in 1:59:30
52
Which Scottish runner broke the mile world record in London in July 2026?
Answer: Josh Kerr, in 3:42.66
53
Who became Formula 1's youngest ever world champion in November 2026?
Answer: Kimi Antonelli, aged 20
54
How many gold medals did the Norwegian skier Johannes Klaebo win at the 2026 Winter Olympics, a record for one Games?
Answer: Six
55
Which skeleton slider became the first Briton to win two gold medals at one Winter Olympics, in 2026?
Answer: Matt Weston
56
Which horse became the first since Red Rum to win back the Grand National, in April 2026?
Answer: I Am Maximus
57
Which golfer won the Masters in 2025 and 2026, the first to retain it since Tiger Woods?
Answer: Rory McIlroy
58
How many Tour de France titles did Tadej Pogacar have after winning in 2026, equalling the record?
Answer: Five
59
How many nights did Harry Styles play at Wembley Stadium in 2026, a record for the venue?
Answer: Twelve, beating Coldplay's ten
60
Who became the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam by winning the 2026 Australian Open?
Answer: Carlos Alcaraz, aged 22

Running it

Six rounds of ten is a full night on its own. For a normal weekly quiz, take one or two rounds and run your usual ones around them: the World Cup round for a sports crowd, the news and music rounds for a mixed one.

Decide before you start how close an answer has to be. Teams will remember the new Spider-Man film rather than its full title, and a ruling made before the first question is one nobody argues with.

If you turn these into multiple choice, the best wrong answers come from the same year: the other nominees, the team that came second, last year's winner.

What is not here

Nothing about wars, disasters or deaths. The year had plenty, and a question that reminds a table of something painful is not worth the point.

Nothing from December, because it has not happened yet. If you run this at Christmas, add two or three questions from that month's news yourself.

Run your end of year quiz

Players join by QR code and answer on their own phones, and the scoring is done for you. The thirteen built-in packs, Christmas Special included, are on the free session.

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