This morning, we hosted our annual Crystal Ball, bringing together a panel of experts across business, politics, media and culture to make their predictions about the year ahead. This year, we were delighted to be joined by:
- Kirsty Wark, Broadcaster and Panel Moderator
- Jayne-Anne Gadhia, UK & Ireland CEO, Salesforce
- Rachel Johnson, Journalist, Author, Broadcaster
- Sally Phillips, Actor, Comedian
- Ayesha Hazarika, Comedian, Journalist, Political Commentator
- Ed Williams, President and CEO, Edelman EMEA
THE PREDICTIONS
- Climate Change will dominate the agenda in every single way
- In 2020 we will see businesses step up to global challenges and be a force for change
- There will be a leadership change within the Labour Party, most likely a woman
- Trump will win a second term
- If the SNP are successful, then Scottish independence is likely, especially if we see a Tory majority. This will in turn lead to a rise in Welsh nationalism
- Trump’s second term will be even worse than his first
- The next big data scandal will concern human DNA and gene screening
- The social media battle will intensify with Instagram getting rid of likes to limit the number of profiting influencers
- 2020 will be the year businesses and government will work together to support our economy and help everyone be better off in life
- The big tech companies will be held accountable and subject to penalties if they’re not transparent in managing data efficiently
- Television will crumble, whilst Instagram TV will rise, as will interactive platforms such as Tik Tok
- AI and VR will become much more mainstream within the television industry, particularly concerning sporting events
- 2020 will be defined by power struggles. Relationships between executives, parliament and the crown will all come under review
- Strategists will face anxiety having to report on their 2020 visions which have finally come around
- 2020 will be the year of Chinese wine
