Can You Believe Your Eyes That All This Happened in 2020?
2020 was a year no one asked for: A worldwide coronavirus pandemic, an unprecedented election, devastating wildfires, racial injustice and subsequent protests, and one seriously questionable hair dye job. When looking back over the headlines of the year, it seems impossible that all that happened over the course of 12 months, and not 12 years.
Here, The Daily Beast photo team selects the best photos of a shitty year.
A reveler sported the Union flag, also known as a Union Jack, during the Leave Means Leave celebration at Parliament Square in London, U.K., on Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. Brexit trade talks that were on the verge of a breakthrough descended into a fight between the U.K. and France as the British government said prospects of an imminent deal had receded.
Thousands of mourners paid homage to Iranian Major General Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. Airstrike. The Pentagon announced that Soleimani, Iran's Quds Force leader, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed on January 3, 2020 following a U.S. airstrike at Baghdad's international airport.
Famous exes Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston attended the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 19, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.
This aerial photo on January 24, 2020 showed excavators at the construction site of a new hospital being built to treat patients from a deadly virus outbreak in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province.
Harvey Weinstein entered the New York City Criminal Court on January 13, 2020 in New York City. Weinstein, a once-powerful movie producer whose alleged sexual misconduct helped spark the #MeToo movement, pleaded not-guilty on five counts of rape and sexual assault against two unnamed women. He was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
A makeshift memorial was set up for the victims of the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 that crashed near the Iranian capital, Tehran—killing 176 people—at the Boryspil airport outside Kiev, on January 11, 2020. Iran's Revolutionary Guards admitted they accidentally shot down the plane as tensions ran high after the U.S. killing of top Iran general Qassem Soleimani just days earlier.
South Korean film director Bong Joon-ho posed with his engraved awards for his hit film “Parasite” at the 92nd Oscars Governors Ball at the Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, California on February 9, 2020.
Kansas City Chiefs' Derrick Nnadi celebrated after winning the Super Bowl LIV, Feb 2, 2020
Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi appeared to rip a copy of U.S. President Donald Trumps speech after he delivered the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2020.
Sneakers and a Los Angeles Lakers jersey with the number 8 worn by NBA star Kobe Bryant hung at a memorial for Bryant in Los Angeles on Feb. 2, 2020, a week after he was killed in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others.
Democratic presidential candidate and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg took a selfie with supporters after speaking at a caucus night campaign rally, Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, in Des Moines, Iowa. Buttigieg made history as the first openly gay presidential candidate—and will make history again when President Biden takes office as the first LGBTQ cabinet member in U.S. history.
Animal rescuer Marcus Fillinger carried a kangaroo, burned by bushfires, on February 4, 2020 in Peak View, Australia. The dart gun specialist had tranquilized the wounded animal near a fire-scorched Koala reserve for transport to a recovery center. Networks of wildlife rescuers and caregivers across Australia helped respond to the country's historic bushfires, which killed countless animals.
U.S. President Donald Trump held up a copy of The Washington Post as he spoke in the East Room of the White House one day after the U.S. Senate acquitted him on two articles of impeachment, on February 6, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Relatives of inmates gathered outside La Modelo jail in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, March 22, 2020. Violence broke out in the prison out of inmates' fears that prison guards were not doing enough to prevent coronavirus inside overcrowded prisons.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attended The Endeavour Fund Awards at Mansion House on March 05, 2020 in London, England. Later that month, the pair stepped down from the royal family and moved first to Canada, and then to Los Angeles, in a shocking and emotional departure.
The Year We Hoarded All the Toilet Paper: A customer pushed her trolley next to empty shelves at a Sainsbury's store during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Harpenden, Britain, March 18, 2020.
Joe Biden watched as his wife, Jill, blocked a protester from arriving on stage during an primary night rally in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.
A medical specialist walked out of a mobile laboratory, which carried out tests to detect the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) near the Moscow International Business Centre, also known as "Moskva-City", in Moscow, Russia April 27, 2020.
Health care workers stood in the street in counter-protest to hundreds of people who gathered at the State Capitol to demand a stay-at-home order be lifted in Denver, Colorado, U.S. April 19, 2020.
A man offered funeral prayers for a Central Reserve Police Force officer who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a graveyard in New Delhi, India, April 29, 2020.
Priest Joachim Giesler held a mass with photos of believers who were asked to send in pictures after the service was closed due to the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Achern, Germany, April 5, 2020.
An aerial picture showed municipality workers burying a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) victim at a grave complex provided by the government in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 26, 2020.
Paramedic Patricia Rodriguez filled out reports on a laptop after her 12-hour shift on April 06, 2020 in Yonkers, New York. Paramedics and EMTs wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) tirelessly treated and transported patients to hospitals throughout Westchester County and parts of New York City, then the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.
People protested outside the CNN Center on May 29, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Demonstrations erupted across the U.S. after George Floyd died in police custody on May 25th in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
People prayed between plastic separation curtains to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Semarang, Central Java Province, Indonesia, May 18, 2020.
Michelle Grant (R) hugged her mother, Mary Grace Sileo, through a plastic drop cloth hung up on a homemade clothes line during Memorial Day Weekend on May 24, 2020 in Wantagh, New York. It was the first time they’d had physical contact of any kind since the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic lockdown started in late February.
Tourists enjoyed the hot weather at Bournemouth beach on May 25, 2020 in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. The British government has started easing the lockdown it imposed two months prior to curb the spread of COVID-19, abandoning its 'stay at home' slogan in favor of a message to 'be alert', but UK countries varied in their approaches to relaxing quarantine measures.
People demonstrated outside a burning Arby's fast food restaurant on May 29, 2020, in Minneapolis during a protest over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into his neck for eight minutes.
New social distancing circles were shown at Dolores Park on May 20, 2020 in San Francisco, California. The move followed similar efforts by other parks in cities around the world in an effort to get back to some semblance of normalcy over the summer.
A man chased away a swarm of desert locusts early in the morning, on May 21, 2020 in Samburu County, Kenya. Trillions of locusts swarmed across parts of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, and even as far away as Pakistan and India, following an earlier mass infestation in February.
U.S. President Donald Trump held up a Bible as he stood in front of St. John's Episcopal Church across from the White House after walking there for a photo opportunity during ongoing protests over racial inequality in the wake of the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody, at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2020.
Armed homeowners Mark and Patricia McCloskey confronted peaceful protesters marching against police brutality and system racism in St. Louis, June 28, 2020.
People walked down 16th street after volunteers, with permission from the city, painted "Black Lives Matter" on the street near the White House on June 05, 2020 in Washington, DC. After seven days of protests in DC over the death of George Floyd, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser renamed that section of 16th street "Black Lives Matter Plaza."
Tomika Miller, the widow of Rayshard Brooks, who was shot dead June 12 by an Atlanta police officer, cried over his coffin at the conclusion of his public viewing a day before his funeral at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. June 22, 2020.
(L-R) Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) joined fellow Democrats from the House and Senate to kneel in silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds to honor George Floyd in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center June 08, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Pallbearers brought the casket bearing the remains of George Floyd into the Fountain of Praise church for his memorial and funeral services on June 8, 2020 in Houston, Texas. Floyd died May 25 while in Minneapolis police custody, sparking nationwide protests. A white police officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder, with the three other officers involved facing other charges.
Musicians from UceLi Quartet, a string quartet, perform 'Crisantemi' by Puccini for an audience made up of 2,292 plants on the first day after the State of Alarm on June 22, 2020 in Barcelona, Spain. The plants will later be delivered to 2,292 healthcare professionals, from the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, accompanied by a certificate from the artist Eugenio Ampudia. The concert was born from the initiative of the Liceu and the artist together with the Max Estrella Gallery and the curator of Blanca De La Torre.
A street sign was pasted over with a decal reading "George Floyd Avenue" on June 8, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd died at the cross streets on May 25th while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department."
Megan Weatherston participated in an outdoor fitness class at Hotel X, inside domes to comply with social distancing measures to control the spread of COVID-19, June 23, 2020 in Toronto, Canada.
Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci watched as Vice President Mike Pence spoke after leading a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing at the Department of Health and Human Services on June 26, 2020 in Washington, DC. Cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) had been rising in southern and western states, forcing businesses to remain closed.
With the seats at Dodger Stadium empty, Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Julio Urias threw to a San Francisco Giants batter during the third inning of a baseball game on July 26, 2020, in Los Angeles.
A large-scale ground mural depicted Breonna Taylor with the text 'Black Lives Matter' at Chambers Park on July 5, 2020 in Annapolis, Maryland. Taylor was unarmed when she was shot and killed by police in her home.
President Donald Trump smiled during a visit to Mount Rushmore National Memorial near Keystone, S.D., on Friday, July 3, 2020.
Supporters cheered from their cars as Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, appeared on a huge monitor as fireworks lit up the night sky on the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, outside of the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del.
Destroyed buildings were visible in Beirut, Lebanon, a day after a massive explosion—caused by a cache of ammonium nitrate languishing at the port—ripped through the city in early August. The explosion also prompted massive demonstrations against the Lebanese government, which was accused of ignoring the dangerous chemical stash that caused the deadly blast.
Military personnel belonging to the Joint Command East disinfected the Sanctuary where the statue of Christ the Redeemer is located on August 13, 2020, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Amy Coney Barrett spoke in the Rose Garden, at what would turn out to be a COVID-19 superspreader event, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that she would be his nominee to the Supreme Court, September 26, 2020.
A policeman arrested a protestor, who is injured in the face and bleeding, in Portland, Oregon, on September 4, 2020 during a march to denounce police brutality and systemic racism.
Embers lit up a hillside behind the Bidwell Bar Bridge as the devastating Bear Fire burned in Oroville, Calif., on Sept. 9, 2020.
A demonstrator cried during a protest against President Donald Trump’s visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin, on September 01, 2020. Days before the president's visit, heavily armed pro-Trump teen Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed three people during protests against the earlier police shooting of an unarmed Black man, Jacob Blake. Trump defended the shooter, prompting a massive backlash.
Two women embraced in front of the Supreme Court building, paying their respects to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg after she died, in Washington, DC, on September 18, 2020.
In this aerial view from a drone, people walked through a mobile home park destroyed by fire on September 10, 2020 in Phoenix, Oregon. Hundreds of homes in the town were lost in devastating wildfires that ravaged Oregon, Washington, and California this year.
U.S. President Donald Trump struggled to leave the White House for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on the South Lawn of the White House on October 2, 2020 in Washington, DC after testing positive for COVID-19.
Anurak Jeantawanich, 52, pushed against police officers during an anti-government protest in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 16, 2020. "I could sense danger coming," said Jeantawanich. "I looked each of them in the eye and told them not to come any closer, that there were a lot of young students and girls here."
Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, and Democratic 2020 U.S. vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug, reacted to confetti at their socially distant victory rally in Wilmington, Delaware, November 7, 2020.
People stood in the fountain as they celebrated in Washington Square Park after it was announced that Democratic nominee Joe Biden would be the next U.S. President on November 7, 2020 in New York City.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani railed at the media at the Four Seasons Landscaping company in Philadelphia—next door to an erotic book shop—after Joe Biden was declared the winner in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, November 7, 2020.
Rudy Giuliani’s hair dye ran down his face as he spoke to the press about various lawsuits related to the 2020 election, inside the Republican National Committee headquarters on November 19, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff spoke during a debate for U.S. Senate on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020, in Atlanta. His opponent, Sen. David Perdue, declined to attend the debate.
Margaret Keenan, 90, was applauded by staff as she returned to her ward after becoming the first person in the United Kingdom to receive the Pfizer/BioNtech covid-19 vaccine at University Hospital at the start of the largest ever immunization program in the UK's history on December 8, 2020 in Coventry, United Kingdom.
A man disguised as Santa Claus, suspended from the Sugar Loaf's Cable car, waved at visitors upon arrival to the Sugar Loaf mountain, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 05, 2020.
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