From great leaps in artificial intelligence to the heroic defendant in a mass rape trial that shocked France, here are the stories of five people who made their mark on 2024.
Gisele Pelicot: anti-rape icon
Gisele Pelicot, 72, was at the centre of a mass rape trial in France which resonated around the world, becoming an icon for women in the fight against sexual violence.
Her former husband, Dominique Pelicot, on December 19 was handed the maximum term of 20 years jail by a French court, after admitting to drugging her with sedatives and inviting dozens of strangers to rape her over a decade.
The other 50 defendants in the case were also convicted, receiving jail terms of between three and 15 years.
In a move that sparked global support, Gisele Pelicot insisted the three-month trial in the southern city of Avignon be open to the public.
“I wanted all women who are rape victims to say to themselves: ‘Mrs Pelicot did it, so we can do it too’,” she said.
After the verdict she said she was thinking of the “unrecognised victims” of sexual violence.
Jensen Huang: chip magnate
Amid all the excitement – and anxiety – generated by Artificial Intelligence in 2024, one AI chip giant broke away from the pack: Nvidia, led by CEO Jensen Huang.
Nvidia surpassed Apple to become the highest-valued listed company in the world as the artificial intelligence boom continued to excite Wall Street.
Cutting a distinctive figure in his signature black leather jacket, Taiwan-born Huang, 61, founded Nvidia three decades ago.
At the root of its newfound success are graphics processors or cards – chips with far greater computing capacity than conventional microprocessors.
Initially developed to improve the graphics quality of video games, Huang’s company figured out the technology was perfectly suited for developing the large language models underpinning generative AI.
Yulia Navalnaya: dogged Kremlin critic
“My political opponent is Vladimir Putin and I’m trying to do and I will do everything to make his regime fall as soon as possible,” said Yulia Navalnaya, widow of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in October.
The 48-year-old Navalnaya, a trained economist, has remained in the public eye to continue her husband’s work after he died in February in an Arctic prison.
She has lobbied against Putin’s government from abroad, and said in October that once he is gone she would stand as candidate for Russian president.
In July Navalnaya, who lives in Berlin, was added to Moscow’s blacklist of “terrorists and extremists”.
One of Spain’s kings of the wing, 17-year-old Lamine Yamal became a global football star after forming part of the most swashbuckling and explosive attack of this year’s Euro 2024 championship.
He and fellow teenage winger Nico Williams were hailed as the inspiration for Spain’s record fourth men’s European Championship triumph.
Baby-faced Yamal, who had braces on his teeth, came through Barcelona FC’s youth team and is now one of the top team’s most exciting talents.
During Euro 2024 he became the youngest ever goal-scorer of the competition at 16 and celebrated his 17th birthday on the eve of the final.
“We have seen a genius,” Spain’s coach Luis de la Fuente said of his player during the tournament.
Yamal was named young player of the championship.
Charli XCX: ‘Brat’ phenomenon
British pop sensation Charli XCX was already one of the top stars in 2024 with her hugely successful album “Brat”.
Then Kamala Harris was catapulted into the US presidential campaign with just 100 days to go.
The “brat summer” meme sparked by the 32-year-old pop star’s album with its lime-green cover and celebration of a relaxed, partying lifestyle became associated with Harris when fans began applying the coloured “brat” filter to the nominee’s images.
Then Charli XCX, real name Charlotte Emma Aitchison, voiced approval with a sign-off – “kamala IS brat” – swiftly embraced by the Harris campaign.
In November, just days before Harris’s presidency bid ended in defeat at the ballot box, Collins dictionary designated “brat” as the Word of the Year.
Who was your ‘Person of 2024’?
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