Elvis' pink Cadillac -- which inspired many a song lyric -- can be seen at Graceland in Tennessee, during January celebrations to honor what would have been the King's 80th birthday. 
Combine speed skating with an obstacle course and you get Crashed Ice. Celebrating its 15th anniversary, the event series kicks off in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in January. 
The FIS Alpine Ski World Championships return to the United States for the first time since 1999, taking over Vail and Beaver Creek, Colorado, in February. 
Historic Macau, with its blend of Portuguese and Chinese cultures, hosts some of the most colorful Lunar New Year celebrations on earth. 
A historical enactment of Napoleon's 1815 landing will be held in Golfe-Juan, France, February 28-March 1. 
Acts come from all over Africa to perform at Morocco's annual Gnaoua World Music Festival, held in 2015 in May. 
Foreign tourists take part in water battles during Thailand's Songkran Festival at Khao San Road in Bangkok (pictured). Chiang Mai has a reputation for the wildest Songkran festivities. 
Hong Kong's Cheung Chau Bun Festival in May is perhaps the world's only celebration that stems from a killer plague. 
The three Queens of cruising -- the Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria -- will arrive in Liverpool in May to mark the 175th anniversary of the Cunard Cruise Line. 
An estimated 20 million travelers from around the world are expected to converge on Milan between May and October for Expo Milano 2015. 
In 2015, the best place to take a closer look at Jeff Koons' work will be at the UK's beautiful Norwich Castle, Norfolk, which is hosting an exhibition of the American's work from May to September.
Singapore celebrates 50 years of independence in 2015. National Day celebrations, held on August 9, will be spectacular. 
The year 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima (pictured) and Nagasaki. Memorial events will be held in both cities on August 6 and 9. 
Brazilian municipality Porto Nacional will host the first World Indigenous Games in 2015. More than 2,000 athletes from indigenous groups in 30-plus countries will take part. 
Puppeteers from around the world will head for Charleville, in northern France, to take part in the annual World Puppet Festival in September. 
Had enough of Munich? Cannstatter Wasen (Stuttgart Beer Festival) takes place from late September to October and offers carnival rides and live music, as well as lots of beer. 
One of 2015's biggest sporting events, the Rugby World Cup will hold three of its most important matches in Newcastle, UK. 
In 2015, Formula 1 returns to Mexico for the first time since 1992. The big race will take place on the Day of the Dead (November 1) in Mexico City. 
Edinburgh, Scotland's Hogmanay event is one of the largest New Year's Eve parties on the planet, with nearly 100,000 people coming to watch five tons of fireworks.
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- In January, Graceland is hosting events in honor of what would have been Elvis Presley's 80th birthday
- On the Day of the Dead, Formula 1 will return to Mexico for the first time since 1992
- Golfe-Juan on France's Cote d'Azur will hold a reenactment of Napoleon's landing on March 1
- August 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the U.S. bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima
(CNN) -- Still haven't filled your 2015 travel calendar?
Whether you're a lover of the arts, a sports fan or just looking for a fantastic party, here are 19 global events worth hitting the road for next year.
Elvis's 80th birthday celebrations
Dates: January 7-10
Where: Graceland, Tennessee
Big Elvis Presley fan?
There's no better time to head to Graceland to celebrate would have been the King's 80th birthday.
Events include a private tour of Graceland, an Elvis Presley Day proclamation by Memphis County officials and birthday cake.
Fans can sign up for Elvis-themed city tours and attend at a live concert at the Memphis Cannon Center for the Performing Arts.
"A very special event will be an auction of third party-owned Elvis artifacts," says Kevin Kern, director of communications at Graceland.
Graceland.com has more information.
Red Bull Crashed Ice
Dates: January 22-24
Where: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Combine speed skating with an obstacle course and you get Crashed Ice, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2015.
The race sees some of the world's top downhill skaters negotiate a frozen course littered with obstacles, while hitting speeds of up to 60 mph.
The Minnesota event will be the first in a series of eight taking place in 2015.
"The sight of extreme athletes careering down an ice track outside Saint Paul's iconic cathedral is an awe-inspiring spectacle -- and one great big party," says Terry Mattson, president of Visit Saint Paul tourism.
Redbullcrashedice.com has more info.
FIS Alpine Ski World Championships
Dates: February 2-15
Where: Vail, Colorado
In 2015 the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships return to the United States for the first time since 1999, taking over Vail and Beaver Creek, Colorado.
In addition to world-class skiers on the slopes, highlights of this biennial event include a high-altitude gig by DJ Decimo on February 14.
The Vail Winter Beer Camp (basically an enormous outdoor beer garden) will welcome sports fans for the duration.
"The ski races are going to be great entertainment but there are so many other things to do," says Mikaela Shiffrin, a racer for the US Ski Team.
"Aspen is already a great ski destination, and to have two weeks of amazing events provides even more reason to visit."
More info at Vailbeavercreek2015.com .
Lunar New Year
Dates: February 19-21
Where: Macau
Sure, you could head to any given Chinatown in the world to enjoy Lunar New Year festivities.
But historic Macau is where you'll find some of the most colorful celebrations on earth -- and enjoy fabulous Portuguese cuisine while you're at it.
A-Ma Temple, one of the city's oldest, hosts some of Macau's best Lunar New Year's eve events.
The lions are more energetic, the dragon dances more lively and the firecrackers just seem louder than at other celebrations.
Naturally, the crowds are bigger, too.
Bicentennial of Napoleon's landing
Dates: February 28-March 1
Where: Golfe-Juan, France
On March 1, 1815, Napoleon landed in Golfe-Juan (now a seaside resort on France's Cote d'Azur), having just escaped from exile in Elba.
It was from here that he set out on a journey -- known as "Route Napoleon" -- that would see him return to power a few weeks later when he cruised into Tuileries Palace in Paris and made it his home.
A historical enactment will be held in Golfe-Juan to mark the occasion, but if you miss the main event you can visit later in the year to cycle, walk or drive the Route Napoleon.
"It was the road Napoleon took north to Paris via Grenoble for his big comeback," says Eric Dore, managing director of the Cote d'Azur tourist board.
"It's historically unique and easy to navigate, and those who attempt it will get superb vistas over the surrounding countryside of glorious Provence and the Riviera."
More info at Vallauris-golfe-juan.fr .
Gnaoua World Music Festival
Dates: May 14-17
Where: Essaouira, Morocco
African music festivals are seriously underrated, and the Gnaoua World Music Festival in Essaouira is one of the best.
Held in Morocco's windsurfing capital, the event offers an irresistible combination of jazz, pop, rock, hip-hop and contemporary world music.
The festival has been taking place since the late 1990s and acts come from all over Africa to perform.
If you live in Europe, getting to Essouria is easier than ever thanks to the recent additions of new flights by various budget airlines.
Full event lineup is available on the official festival website, Festival-gnaoua.net .
Songkran -- Thai New Year
Dates: April 13-15
Where: All over Thailand
Thailand's massively popular Songkran Festival -- held in celebration of the new solar year -- is basically one nationwide water fight.
But it didn't start out that way.
Originally, families and friends celebrated Songkran by visiting temples and pouring water on each other's hands and Buddha statues as a blessing, to start the year filled with good luck.
Though these traditions continue, over the years people started to engage in water fights in the streets -- a welcome form of relief given that April is the hottest month of the year.
Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, has a reputation for holding the wildest Songkran festivities.
Though Thailand's New Year celebrations are the most well known, attracting tourists from around the region, Songkran is also celebrated in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.
Cheung Chau Bun Festival
Dates: May 22-26
Where: Hong Kong
During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) a plague killed thousands of people on Cheung Chau, an island south of Hong Kong.
Islanders built an altar, performed Taoist rituals and burned effigies in an effort to drive off the evil spirits they believed were to blame -- their efforts are remembered with the annual Cheung Chau Bun Festival.
It's named after the most popular event, which sees locals scramble up a bamboo tower and collect as many "lucky buns" as possible.
"The Bun Scrambling competition is the only one in the world," points out Mr. Yung Chi-ming, chairman of the Cheung Chau Bun Festival Committee.
"Afterward, buns are given out as a gesture of peace and happiness."
Discoverhongkong.com has more info.
Cunard's 175th anniversary
Dates: May 24-26
Where: Liverpool, UK
Today's cruise ships might have robot bartenders and water parks, but in 2015 visitors to Liverpool will be far more interested in a trio of slightly more historic vessels.
The three Queens of cruising -- the Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria -- will arrive in Liverpool in May to mark the 175th anniversary of the Cunard Cruise Line.
"Two of Liverpool's proudest assets are its waterfront and its culture, and Cunard's 175th anniversary is the perfect time to see them," says Claire McColgan, director of Culture Liverpool.
"The meeting of the three Queens will be a one-off event, and they'll get a reception like no other when they arrive."
MORE: 14 amazing cruises setting sail in 2015
Expo Milano 2015
Dates: May 1-October 31
Where: Milan, Italy
Milan will host the Universal Exposition for the second time in 2015 (it first hosted the event in 1906).
The theme is "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life," and there's been a huge amount of urban regeneration going on in preparation for the expo, much of which has been overseen by Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas.
Must-sees are expected to be the Future Food District, where visitors can find out how food will be produced, distributed, prepared and consumed in the future, and the Arts and Foods exhibition, which takes a look at everything from food packaging design to the aesthetics of kitchen utensils.
Full event info at Expo2015.org .
Jeff Koons Exhibition
Dates: May 9-September 6
Where: Norwich Castle, Norfolk, UK
Jeff Koons might be an American artist -- famous for his quirky reproductions of everyday objects -- but in 2015 the best opportunity to take a closer look at his work comes at an exhibition in the UK's beautiful Norwich Castle.
"This will be the biggest Jeff Koons exhibition in Britain for a decade and an unmissable opportunity for visitors to see the work of such an important, influential and fun artist," says William Galinsky, artistic director of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival.
"It's the only chance to see his work in the UK in 2015."
Singapore's Golden Jubilee celebrations
When: August 9
Where: Singapore
Singapore celebrates 50 years of independence in 2015, with events being held throughout the year.
But the best time to visit is on August 9 for National Day, as this year's celebrations are expected to be bigger and better than ever.
There will be fireworks, parades, shows, youth rallies and the opening of a new walkway from the Civic District to Marina Bay.
Hiroshima/Nagasaki Memorial
When: August 6 and 9
Where: Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan
If you've ever wanted to visit Japan to learn more about its World War II history, now's the time to go.
The year 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Memorial events will be held in both cities on August 6 and 9, while a number of special arts projects will be held throughout the year.
MORE: Hiroshima atomic bomb attraction more popular than ever
World Indigenous Games
When: September 18-25
Where: Porto Nacional, Brazil
Though the 2016 Olympics in Rio are hogging the spotlight, Brazil is hosting a smaller but arguably much cooler event in 2015 -- the first World Indigenous Games in Porto Nacional.
More than 2,000 athletes from indigenous groups from more than 30 countries will be traveling to the municipality of Porto Nacional to take part in a wide range of disciplines, including archery, javelin, tug-of-war, canoeing, log racing, wrestling, football, xikunahati (headball), swimming and other athletics.
Though the games have taken place for more than 10 years, this will be the first time the event is open to athletes from outside Brazil.
More info at the official games website, www.i-games2015.com .
World Puppet Festival
When: September 18-27
Where: Charleville, France
Charleville is regarded as a major international center of puppetry and has one of the world's top marionette schools.
At this annual event, 150 professional troupes from as far afield as Burma, Mali and Jordan put on up to 50 shows a day.
"The event is a huge celebration and of great importance to locals, because the region has such a long tradition with puppets and marionettes -- or les petits comediens, as we like to call them," says local restaurant owner Guy Barbara.
"The excitement builds before the grand parade, and then there are 10 days of fun on the pavements and sidewalks of Charleville. There really is nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world!"
More info at Festival-marionnette.com .
Cannstatter Wasen (Stuttgart Beer Festival)
When: September 25-October 11
Where: Stuttgart, Germany
Munich's Oktoberfest hogs the limelight when it comes to beer festivals, but the Cannstatter Wasen (Stuttgart Beer Festival) is becoming a worthy rival.
The event lasts for two weeks and first took place in 1818.
It's the world's second largest beer festival.
In addition to numerous beer tents, there's a huge Ferris wheel, carnival rides, live music and
plenty of sugared almonds -- a Stuttgart specialty -- to soak up the alcohol.
Rugby World Cup 2015
When: October 3, 9 and 10
Where: Newcastle, UK
Another one for sports fans.
One of 2015's biggest sporting events, the Rugby World Cup will hold three of its most important matches in Newcastle.
"The Rugby World Cup is the third biggest sporting event in the world and it will be the largest sporting event in England next year," says Eric Fry, a member of the American team who also plays for Newcastle's local rugby union team.
"Some of the best teams in the world will be playing at St. James' Park, including New Zealand -- the current world champions."
Mexican Grand Prix
When: November 1
Where: Mexico City
In 2015, Formula 1 will return to Mexico for the first time since 1992.
The big racing event will take place on Mexico's Day of the Dead, when family and friends gather to pray for friends and family members who have died.
The course is incredibly historic.
The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit was named after two racing driver brothers, Ricardo and Pedro Rodriguez, and has also hosted several NASCAR events.
Tickets available at Tickets.formula1.com .
MORE: Formula One: Mexico GP given green light for 2015 season
Hogmanay celebrations
When: December 31
Where: Edinburgh, Scotland
There's no better way to finish the year than with a visit to one of the largest New Year's Eve parties on the planet.
Almost 100,000 people will attend the annual Hogmanay event, which is manned by 1,000 volunteers.
It begins with a torchlight procession involving more than 25,000 locals, led by Shetland's Up Helly Aa Vikings, with their pipes and drums, and culminates atop Calton Hill, when more than five tons of fireworks will blast into the sky.
On New Year's Eve, as many as 100,000 people will take to the streets to sing "Auld Lang Syne" -- apparently the biggest and loudest rendition of the song in the world -- and party.
Live footage from the celebration is beamed to more than one billion people in 150 countries.
More info at Edinburghshogmanay.com .
A co-author of e-book "Fiesta, How to Survive the Bulls of Pamplona" was gored in the thigh while running with the bulls in Pamplona. (File photo) 
Jordan Axani booked a "fairly wicked" trip (New York, Paris, Prague, Bangkok) with girlfriend Elizabeth Gallagher, broke up, then found another Elizabeth Gallagher online to use her ticket. 
In March, the UK-based International Medical Travel Journal staged the first annual 
Provenance hotels in the United States offered guests an in-house pet psychologist. The bacon-and-cheese treatment is popular. 
Views are superb from Queens, New York, which Lonely Planet named the number one place to visit in its list of top 
Camera-toting daredevils climbed skyscrapers in 
The results of a Spirit Airlines survey filled out by almost 30,000 people? It's not just Spirit, fliers hate other airlines, too! 
Eight cars at Kentucky's National Corvette Museum were wrecked when a monster sinkhole in the earth swallowed them in April. 
British Airways unveiled "The Seven Hour Train Journey to Oslo," perhaps the most boring inflight movie ever. With no commentary, it depicts every coma-inducing detail of a slow-speed train journey to the Norwegian capital. 
Italy's cash-strapped counts and countesses threw open the doors of their centuries-old palaces to tourists, wearing picturesque hats while guiding them through grand estates. 
Australian chef Johnny Di Francesco (pictured) took home top honors at the World Pizza Championship in Italy. 
"Don't ask superstitious people from Hong Kong to sleep in a four-poster bed" and avoid "exchanging a smile or making eye contact with anyone from France you don't know" were among a list of dos and don'ts prepared for the tourist industry by VisitBritain. See? No Chinese here. 
Twice in a week, British Airways flew passengers to Grenada in the Caribbean instead of Granada, Spain, as booked. 
The Australian government said its overseas consulates would no longer assist with petty requests from travelers. Recent calls for help included taking care of pets and fixing traffic tickets. 
A pilot's prosthetic arm detached while he was landing a turboprop plane with 47 passengers at an airport in Northern Ireland. He brought in the craft one-handed. 
To honor her late father's unfulfilled dream of world travel, Jinna Yang took a life-sized cutout of him on a trip across Europe. 
When a couple described a hotel in England as a "filthy, dirty rotten stinking hovel" on a review site, a fine of $156 was added to their credit card bill. 
In a tourism marketing stunt, residents of Zhengzhou, one of China's most polluted cities, lined up to breathe fresh air packed in from Laojun Mountain. 
Throughout the year, outbreaks of novovirus and other maladies hit cruise ships, affected hundreds of passengers on multiple sailings. 
To highlight the issue of food waste, Frenchman Baptiste Dubanchet cycled from Paris to Warsaw eating food only found in trash cans. 
According to Boston.com, a naked man fell through the ceiling of a woman's restroom in Boston's Logan International Airport. 
From U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to Skytrax, it seemed no one had a kind word for U.S. airports. The Economist declared them "awful," beset by "soggy pizza, surly security staff and endless queues." 
According to an aerospace engineering professor in Malaysia, the near-vertical passenger seat, or "standing cabin," may be the next big cost-cutting move in aviation. 
On cue came news that Airbus filed a patent application for saddle seats on which passengers perch rather than recline. Airbus said the patent doesn't mean it'll be saddling up its aircraft. 
A woman rented her California condo to two men through Airbnb. After their rental term ended, the pair refused to leave, citing state laws protecting their rights as legal tenants. 
Videos of a scuffle between locals and Chinese tourists over a toddler peeing on a Hong Kong street went viral, stirring online antipathy between Hong Kongers and mainlanders. The fiasco acquired the epithet "Bladdergate" on social media. 
A 14-year-old Dutch girl tweeted a terror threat to American Airlines that catapulted her into social media infamy. She turned herself in to police and was charged with "posting a false or alarming announcement." 
In January, a Southwest Airlines jet landed at Taney County airport instead of Branson airport in Missouri. The airports are about seven miles apart. 
After five hours at altitudes of 38,000 feet, without oxygen and in subzero temperatures, a 16-year-old runaway popped out of the wheel well of a Hawaiian Airlines flight from California at Kahului Airport in Maui, Hawaii. 
Near-misses between aircraft included incidents in the U.S., UK and Spain. In December, the wingtip of a Southwest Airlines plane clipped an American Airlines plane awaiting a gate at New York's LaGuardia International Airport. 
Passengers departing from Simon Bolivar International Airport of Maiquetia in Caracas, had to pay a levy of 127 bolivars ($18) for a 
Marriott agreed to pay a $600,000 fine after the U.S. FCC found it blocked Wi-Fi networks at a conference in Tennessee. At the same time, Marriott was charging exhibitors up to $1,000 to access the hotel's wireless network. 
Peru's Ministry of Culture denounced the regular spectacle of nude visitors at Machu Picchu as "disrespectful" and "unfortunate events that threaten cultural heritage." 
Authorities in Rome slapped a €20,000 fine on a Russian tourist caught carving his name into the Colosseum. 
When a man on a United Airlines flight refused to remove his Knee Defender, which blocks seats from reclining, the woman in front of him threw water in his face. The plane was diverted to Chicago, where both passengers were removed. (File photo) 
After three attempts to stow away on planes, a 62-year-old woman slipped past a checkpoint in California without a ticket and boarded a flight bound for Los Angeles. She was later arrested. 
When minus-50 C temps froze their aircraft's landing gear, passengers left their seats to give the plane a push at Igarka Airport in Siberia. Dressed in heavy coats and thick gloves, each took a wing and began shoving the aircraft into position. 
A woman brought an "emotional support pig" aboard a US Airways flight bound for Washington, D.C. After the beast defecated in the aisle, both woman and pig left the plane before takeoff. 
December saw five separate incidents of Chinese air passengers misbehaving, including a woman throwing hot water at a flight attendant and a mini-brawl touched off by a crying baby. 
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration had seized 2,000 firearms from carry-on luggage as of December 1. Even with a month to go, that was more than the TSA has confiscated in any other full year. 
A Korean Air exec 
In Sochi, Russia, for the Winter Olympics, sportswriters reported on hotels with 
An April avalanche on Mount Everest claimed the lives of 12 Sherpa guides. The 
On December 28, a fire broke out on a ferry traveling from Greece to Italy. At least 10 people died, and as many as 427 were saved in dramatic fashion in choppy seas. 
In July, a number of airlines suspended flights to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport for at least 24 hours after a rocket fired from Gaza struck about a mile from its runways. 
The October explosion of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo during a test flight killed one pilot, injured another and shook the private space industry by contributing to questions about its near-term viability. 
Ebola fears in October seemed to culminate in a battle of words between American nurse Kaci Hickox, who returned home from Ebola-ravaged West Africa only to be ordered into quarantine in New Jersey, and the state's Governor Chris Christie. (File photo) 
On December 28, Air Asia Flight QZ8501 went missing over the Java Sea carrying 162 passengers and crew. As the year drew to a close, bodies and debris from the plane had been found near its last known location and search and recovery efforts continued. 
On July 17, a Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 298 people was downed by a missile in a rebel-controlled part of eastern Ukraine. The U.S. and Ukraine accused pro-Russian separatists of downing the plane. The separatists denied responsibility. 
On March 8, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 carrying 239 people disappeared over the sea shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing. The aircraft has yet to be found. 
