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Ireland will float off across the Atlantic and attach itself to the east coast of the USA where NORAID supporters will discover the errors of their ways and promptly cast the island adrift again. The spice girls will win the world cup.
The England team song will sell 20 million copies worldwide. The USA will impose "economic" sanctions on France because they were not awarded the world cup by default.
Gerry Adams will shave his beard off to reveal that he is really a pound of chedder cheese. Microsoft will go into the strawberry jam business. British farmers will continue to produce disease-ridden garbage and sell it to the public as food while the NUM continues to lobby parliament for mad cow compensation for the people who fed us infected beef and carry out criminal acts against foreign imports for which any other member of society would be locked up.
Fox hunters will continue their pathetic attempts at justification of barbaric behaviour to the rest of life in general. Kodak! will downsize yet again while expanding their feelgoodaboutlife advertising campaign.
The queen will take up professional wrestling. Stevenage will beat ManU 4-1 in the FA cup final. Klinsman wll be footballer of the year. House prices in the SE will collapse. Joy riders will face the death penalty. Elvis Presley will die in a plane crash. Aliens will land just outside Telford in Shropshire and vapourise the dump. The Lochness monster will move to Dunstable. I'll dink lesh whisky. Biros around the world will simultaneously dry up, plunging the world into chaos. Rupert Murdoch will build an underwater city. Goldfish in tanks will invade Kenya. Snowflake eating will become an olympic sport.
Colin Gaunt, UK

Michael Portillo and Peter Mandelson will be involved in secret talks to determine which is the true antichrist. Chris Evans' megalomania will pervade more of the media.
At long last some action will be taken over the horrific massacres being carried in Algeria, and I'll be able to read a whole publication without finding a mention of the Lice Girls.
Other than that things will be pretty much the same - there will be food scares and monetary crises and the government will continue not to do what we want.
Elaine Woobey, Scotland

I can't help noticing how Prince Charles drools over the Spice Girls. I think he he will marry Geri Spice.
Lillian Fisher, UK

"The Troubles" in Northern Ireland will end when Dodi's dad purchases the territory and then gives it to Dublin, free and clear. Kenneth Branagh will realise what a fool he was for allowing Emma to get away. It will be revealed that Her Majesty the Queen and Sarah Ferguson are fast friends and have been all along. The pair will take to doing their own grocery shopping at Tesco and then competing against each other in the home version of "Ready Steady Cook". (Fergie will let HRH win!). Scotland will win the World Cup... and will use the power gained to secure its complete independence. Speaking of the Queen...she will be forced to take back Sir Paul McCartney's knighthood after learning that he actually has been dead since prior to the release of 'Sgt. Peppers". She'll take more heat from the populous for not knowing that before embarrassing everyone in awarding it in the first place.
The United States will be scratched from the World Cup for not showing up in France because team officials thought the competition was being staged in Paris, Texas. Sir Elton John will be hired to rework the "Star Spangled Banner" to include a reggae beat and to make it "hummable". It will be released as a single CD and will sell 14 copies worldwide. Tony Blair will resign from public office and will take over management of The Spice Girls. Samantha Fox will take over at Number 10, up from Page 3.
Michael Bower, USA

In respect of Ireland there will be much progress made even though there will be the last heaves at violence by the extremists. The Royal Family will become more involved in public affairs especially with charities and in this Diana has made her mark.
A new spirit of hope will inspire Britain and Tories will become scattered. Many people in Britain will begin to look at the Liberals as the alternates to Labour. Britain will become involved in major environmental issues helping many of her former colonies to research and renew the development of traditional technologies.
Richards Karunairajan, Canada

I predict with uncanny certainty (you'll see) more of the same of this kind of forum/opinion thing on the internet - where you get to learn, with an appalling sense of intimacy, that you have to share the same planet with all the neuroses, paranoia, bigotry, stupidity, banality, hedonism and the spice girls that is the human race. Happy new year!
Barry Fell, UK

More problems between Russia & Chechnya, that might lead to another conflict; the whole region will be very unstable. Nationalistic Governments in the Baltic countries will continue to deprive Russian-speaking residents of their rights, while losing a grip on the economics side of the situation in general. Stabilisation of the emerging markets is likely to come in place at about spring time.
Felix Polianski, Latvia

Brazil will win the World Cup and the country will continue prospering and becoming an unbeatable economic power. In Britain, Blair's ratings will fall as people get fed up with the over-paternalism and intolerance of the Labour Government. Goodness knows what they will try to ban next and take away more personal freedoms.
Peter Wallace, Brazil

A huge earthquake in Tokyo towards the end of the year will cause Japan to start liquidating it's overseas assets - particularly US T bonds. The US bond market will collapse, closely followed by all world markets and the whole global financial system will implode - not a recession or a depression but a total collapse. The world will be plunged into chaos and, in desperation, almost all nations will give cede national sovereignty to the UN. An entirely digital global financial system will be set up and by 99 we'll have a world government made up of a federation of ten regions. Prior to all this though, more wild weather will result in poor harvests worldwide - including the US. World food reserves will fall perilously low, grain prices will sky rocket and there will be famine in large parts of Africa and even Asia. China will continue to increase it's presence on the world stage and the US will continue it's policy of demonising Saddam in order to justify a continued military presence in the Gulf. Sanctions will not be lifted and more innocent children will continue to die.
Mat Guthrie, UK

I predict that the Spice girls will have at least another number one. They will also go on a successful world tour and will be too busy to break up. I also feel that the Posh/Beckham relationship will heat the headlines big time. 1998 is a shaky year for the Labour government, Tony Blair will have to be strong to continue. England will have a shock when they discoverd the strength of the other teams in their group. Other sports will continue to improve. Lennox Lewis will loose to Evander Hollyfield by a TKO. Naseem Hamed will win his next two fights. If he fought towards the end of the year he will loose the belt. Prince Charles will not marry Camilla this year but they will be seen together quite a lot.
A Danner, UK

Economists will become more sceptical about the Euro, unemployment will rise as interest rates, Asia and the pound take their toll. Labour will face more revolts over welfare issues, people will realise the devolution bills are incredibly flawed and the Conservative Party will realise that its place as defender of people's freedoms in the face of political correctness and banning as well as presenting a more measured style will gain popularity with the electorate. Peter Mandelson will get what is coming to him.
James T Ramsay, UK

The Spice Girls will split up and there'll be a new girl band. "Boy" power will take over. There'll be a huge epidemic of chicken flu and all Britain's battery chicken farms will be closed. The Millennium Dome will be scrapped by public demand and hunting will be abolished. We 'll see an explosion of sectarian violence in Wales. England will at last win the ashes. There'll be another death in boxing and it may be banned.
Georgia Webb, Scotland, UK

Northern Ireland will descend into sectarian bloodshed again, leading to a UN peacekeeping force being deployed. The single European currency will be delayed as only France and Germany are ready to join, and then only just ready. A cold, wet Summer will lead to predictions of a new Ice Age. At home, unemployment will start to rise again as interest rates hit 12 or 13 percent. Withdrawal of benefits from single parents and disabled people will lead to a number of Labour MPs splitting from the party. There will also be rioting over these issues.
Neil Tonks, United Kingdom

The ongoing Iraq crisis will come to a full boil again. Record cold weather somewhere in the world will be blamed on "global warming." Space Station Mir will have another system failure. Teletubbies will infest the USA. The good news is that they will displace Tickle Me Elmo dolls.
James Castro, USA

The Euro will 'happen' according to schedule in a nominal sense, but the devaluation of Eastern currencies will compel it to be a very soft currency. That, plus the persistence of 12-15% unemployment in France and Germany will produce a series of political crises that will result in calls for mechanisms allowing EU members with particularly severe economic problems to exempt themselves from EU rules, leading in the end to the gradual weakening of EU cohesion in general. The far left of the Labour party and the right of the Tory party will split off, leaving Blair to govern with the support of a formal or informal Coalition of National Unity in the commons.
Jon Livesey, USA

More problems from europe, another royal death, serious disturbances over the hunt ban, more food health scares. On the same positive side there will be a lovely summer with no hose pipe bans even mentioned_ This last point will be heralded by a squadron of flying pigs.
M.Brimacombe, United Kingdom

Victoria will leave the Spice Girls to settle down with new hubby. England beat Brazil in World Cup final by penalties. War in the gulf once again.
Paul Teale, England

Men will start being cloned and clones will be the fashion!! For the first time a human male will give birth to a child! The Spice girls will receive knighthoods In December, 1998, the world will finally come to an end!!
Sulove Bothra, India

Scotland will be well on the way to Independence by the end of 1998. The Tories will have by then realised that they will not be in government for a Generation and will split up into pro and anti European parties.
Alasdair Cameron, Scotland

I believe that in 98 I'll still be none the wiser as I now Live in America. Happy new year.
Lee Gray, USA

Agricultural products will become more expensive. Inflationary pressure will mean higher interest rates in several Western countries. Asian tiger economies will experience a less than expected slow rate of growth - more difficult to obtain financing for new major projects e. g. airports, capitals aso. The US equity index, Russell 2000, will outperform the DJI as well as S&P500 - percentage wise - but generally speaking I believe world equity markets in 1998 will be less attractive than in the past 3 years whereas commodity markets for the experienced investor might very well be an idea.
New financial products relating to the commodity markets will be developed. Long term sovereign bonds will be too risky for most investors. Japan might liquidate large US treasury holdings in the aftermath of a major earth quake. Turkey will not be a member of the EEC because of unacceptable problems in its " back yard ". Nigeria will be among the first 3 in the world championships in football! ( European ).
The labour markets in Western Europe will be using older people in part-time jobs more and more so if we shall maintain our standard of living in the future.
H. Ahl, UK

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