Sporting calendar 2020: All the key events including an incredible summer of sport

DARTS: BDO World Championships - Women's defending champion Mikuru Suzuki came within one leg of achieving a first-round win at Alexandra Palace and will be a big draw to the Indigo at the O2 Arena. In the men's draw, Glen Durrant is gunning for a fourth successive title. (January 4-12)

FOOTBALL: FA Cup third round - It is a special moment for every football club when they are given a chance at glory by the luck of the draw, and never is that more true than when the FA Cup pulls in the biggest names in English football. If you're hunting for a giant-killing, keep an eye on Gillingham v West Ham, Arsenal v Leeds or Watford v Tranmere (January 4-6)

TENNIS: Australian Open - Andy Murray has already pulled out of the tournament but the field remains star-studded with Novak Djokovic defending his title, Roger Federer trying to win his first Grand Slam in two years and Rafael Nadal attempting to draw level with the Swiss on the all-time list. In the women's draw, Serena Williams will become the joint-leader of the all-time list on 24 if she takes her eighth Australian Open title. (January 20-February 2)

NFL: Super Bowl 54 - One of the greatest shows in sport, the whole NFL season comes down to one game, which this year takes place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami although the Dolphins could hardly have been further from reaching it. It's not all about football either with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira set to take centre stage at half-time. (February 2)

BIATHLON: World Championships - Last year, Norway headed over the hills to Sweden and brought back five gold medals, a huge improvement on the disappointment of the previous edition when they bagged zero. Johannes Thingnes Boe won four medals himself and is likely to be among the favourites again when the event heads to Antholz-Anterselva in Italy. (February 13-23)

FOOTBALL: Champions League last 16 first legs - It's all serious in the Champions League but after Christmas it all gets very serious indeed. There are any number of showdowns you might regard as 'the tie of the round' but runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool up against Atletico Madrid looks particularly tasty. (February 18, 19, 25, 26)

FORMULA 1: Australian Grand Prix - The Formula 1 circus starts again at Albert Park in Melbourne in a year when Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel could both be in their final years with Mercedes and Ferrari respectively. (March 15)

FOOTBALL: Champions League 16 second leg - Can Manchester City surprise Real Madrid? Who will win the Thomas Tuchel derby between Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund? Will Barcelona struggle against Napoli? All will be revealed. (March 10, 11, 17, 18)

ATHLETICS: World Indoor Championships - Two years ago in Birmingham, Katarina Johnson-Thompson picked up Team GB's only hold medal in the pentathlon, laying the platform for greater things. Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, this will be a key marker for the team's biggest hitters. (March 13-15)

CYCLING: Paris-Nice - In the 21st century, two Brits have won Paris-Nice: Bradley Wiggins in 2012, and Geraint Thomas in 2016. You may also notice they were both Olympic years and both men have ended up winning the Tour de France. Coincidence? Probably, but it is a good marker. Egan Bernal won it last year. (March 8-15)

SNOOKER: World Championships - One of the great bastions of the British sporting calendar graces Eurosport's screens in April as Judd Trump looks to defend the title he won last year at the Crucible. It was always a matter of when not if for the 'Juddernaut' and it happened to be last year. Few would bet against him defending it. (April 18-May 4)

CYCLING: Paris-Roubaix - This historic race is one of the sport's oldest and takes place across infamous terrain including dirt and cobblestones. Some have called the one-day classic 'A Sunday in Hell' due to its gruelling nature and it rarely fails to provide entertainment. Traditionally, the race has been dominated by the Belgians and Philippe Gilbert is the man who will try to defend the title, something no-one has managed since Tom Boonen, a four-time winner, back in 2009. (April 12)

FORMULA 1: The season will only be two races old by early April but it will make history when it heads to Hanoi for the very first Vietnamese Grand Prix on a dramatic street circuit. (April 5)

CYCLING: Giro d'Italia - The first Grand Tour of the year will start in Hungary, where the first three stages, including an individual time trial and two likely to be won by sprinters will take place. In fact, we may not have a good idea where the title might be going until the very last week, with three brutal mountain climbs coming in the last five stages - the specialist climbers are unlikely to be favoured by the overall balance of the route though. (May 9-31)

TENNIS: French Open - Rafael Nadal. That's probably all we need to say. Will anyone be able to challenge the King of Clay in Paris? Or will he pick up a 13th trophy at Roland Garros? Watch out for the young pretender to his title Dominic Thiem and Roger Federer, perhaps in his swansong, looking for one last dance on the red dirt. (May 24-June 7)

FOOTBALL: Champions League semi-finals and final, last day of the Premier League season - The wait might finally be over for Liverpool and fans will remember the day Sunday May 17 as the moment everything changed and they won a first league title in nearly three decades. It will come just 13 days before the Champions League final, when they will perhaps be trying to pull off a remarkable double or even, if they find themselves in the FA Cup final too, a stunning treble. (CL semi-final second legs May 6, 7; Premier League last day May 17, FA Cup final May 23, Champions League final May 30)

FOOTBALL: Euro 2020 - Are you ready to love again? International football tournaments, especially for England fans, are an emotional rollercoaster that makes us thankful they are not more regular than every two years. Maybe football can come home this time? Please? (June 12-July 12)

MOTORSPORT: 24 Hours of Le Mans - If you only watch one endurance race all year, watch this one. No-one is expecting you to manage the whole 24 hours - sleep is permitted - but the sheer physical challenge provided at Le Mans is enough to create endless drama, live on Eurosport. Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima are the star-studded defending champions from Toyota. (June 13-14)

CYCLING: Tour de France - In Nice they will start and it will be nasty pretty quickly as the world's most draining bike race returns to our screens. The last three winners including defending champion Egan Bernal will all be racing for Team Ineos in what should be a showdown with Jumbo-Visma, who have signed the talented Tom Dumoulin to their ranks. But the route may make it difficult for them to control the race as they might like, with no team time trial and just one individual time trial: even that comes at the 11th hour on the final competitive stage of the race. (June 27-July 19)

TENNIS: Wimbledon - Okay, so it starts in June but it's mostly in July this year so just allow it please? This could be the last time anyone gets the chance to see Roger Federer play at SW19 and the queues are likely to be at an all-time high. So bust out your white headbands, your cardboard cut-outs of the trophy, your best strawberry-eating fork and a tent that will hold your four mates and three gallons of Pimms for at least 48 hours. (June 29-July 12)

OLYMPICS: Anyone who remembers the last Olympics in Asia - Beijing 2008 - will struggle to keep their expectations in check for the fortnight in Tokyo. The summer Games head to Japan for the first time ever and you'll be able to watch all the action right here on Eurosport, from opening ceremony to closing ceremony and everything in between. (July 24-August 9)

FORMULA E: E-Prix London - Motor racing is getting more electric every year and the sport's first all-electric series is finally returning to London for its 2020 season finale. The previous visits centred around Battersea Park but a new-look hybrid indoor-outdoor track around ExCeL London will host a double-header in the middle of summer with the champion crowned after Sunday's race. (July 25-26)

CYCLING: La Vuelta a Espana - This year's Vuelta will start in the flat Dutch city (something of a tautology) of Utrecht, which will become the first city to host stages of all three Grand Tours, before heading Spain after three stages in the Netherlands. Before August is out, the riders will also dip into France to finish the ninth stage atop the legendary Col du Tourmalet and in September they will head over Spain's western land border into Portugal as well. Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic is the defending champion. (August 14-September 6)

ATHLETICS: European Championships - In an Olympic year, and taking place so soon after Tokyo, there is a danger that the Europeans could fly under the radar somewhat. But they shouldn't, as it will be an opportunity for those who for whatever reason did not get the chance to shine at the Olympics to show the world that they should have been there. Four years ago, the event took place a month before the Olympiad, which made a bit more sense. But nevertheless, expect all four of Team GB's individual European champions to head to Paris to defend their titles. (August 26-30)

TENNIS: US Open - Serena Williams is always the story at Flushing Meadows, one way or another. Even last year, when she was beaten by teenage sensation Bianca Andreescu, Williams led most of the headlines because after all, she is the greatest of all time. She will be almost 39 by the time her favourite tournament swings around again in 2020 - how much longer can she go on? We might also be asking the same question of Roger Federer... (August 31-September 13)

CYCLING: Road World Championships - "No-one will forget this race," said one shrivelled, cold, soaking rider after crossing the line in the 2019 men's road race, which was blighted by torrential rain and freezing conditions in Yorkshire. There is no guarantee that Switzerland will be much better although the average temperature in Martigny, where all the races will finish, is around 20 degrees in September so it should be significantly more pleasant. Hopefully. (September 20-27)