There was a spectacular start to 2012 in London, and the year is set to continue in similar style

London in 2012 looks set for an explosion of pomp and pageantry.

VIPs of high office with grand titles will be parading around the capital before an audience gathered from all around the world and numbering in the hundreds of millions.

But that is enough about the Olympic Games in July.

The glut of grandees expected to patronise the shiny new East End this summer will struggle to outshine the pomp and circumstance of the one occasion generating even more puff – the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 60 years on the throne with a plethora of events taking place in June.

These include a concert at Buckingham Palace, a Big Jubilee lunch and the “largest floating flotilla of modern times” to be seen on the River Thames.

Expect the England football team at June’s Euro 2012 tournament to make an impact on London.

Screenings of matches around town will lead to more bunting than the jubilee – if the team gets past the quarter-finals stage.

If all this public show, razzmatazz and public transport meltdown leaves you feeling in need of nourishment, then London in 2012 promises to serve up its usual menu of

high-quality art and culture.

Picasso and Britain at Tate Britain and Damien Hirst at the Tate Modern from April are among highlights.

What event of 2012 are you most looking forward to and why? Tell us below.