[WATCH] The events that shaped 2020

From facemasks to leadership elections, from tragedy to migration brinkmanship, MaltaToday looks back at the events that shaped 2020

Coronavirus aside, 2020 has been a year of headlines.

The big political parties both saw a change in leadership, government refused to disembark migrants for weeks and political scandals continued to be revealed.  

Wife and mother Miriam Pace lost her life after her house collapsed due to neighboring construction work, while more details on the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder continued to be exposed. Intellectual, poet and novelist Oliver Friggieiri also lost his life this year.

2020 also saw women politicians continue to achieve new levels in their career, with Labour MEP Miriam Dalli coopted into parliament and Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola elected as First Vice President of the European parliament.

Malta also got a voting cardinal when Pope Francis appointed former Gozo bishop Mario Grech to the Catholic church's senior body.

But the biggest story of all was the COVID-19 pandemic. Driven to their homes, people across all ages and classes felt the brunt of the virus, which has out of the blue derailed normality for thousands of people in Malta and millions around the world.

From school closures, to preventive measures like the use of facemasks and the closure of bars, the pandemic brought about a new normal.