June 2024: 30 days, ten weekend days and a solstice
June 2024 opened on a Saturday and closed on a Sunday: 30 days, ten of them weekend, just 20 of them working days, the lightest month of the quarter. It was also the month the world voted. Mexico chose its first woman president on Sunday 2 June. India's election results landed on Tuesday 4 June. The European Parliament polls ran from Thursday 6 June through Sunday 9 June. Football and a solstice filled the rest.
The lightest working month
Five Saturdays, from Saturday 1 June through Saturday 29 June, framed the month. Five Sundays followed, from Sunday 2 June through Sunday 30 June. Every weekday ran to four, leaving 20 business days against ten weekend days, across ISO weeks 22 to 26.
The solstice arrived on Thursday 20 June, and the full moon followed on Saturday 22 June. June 2024 opened in weekend mode and kept ten weekend days in play. It was the quarter's lightest working month, by design of the arithmetic.
Twenty working days still covered a football tournament, an election or three and the longest day. For a month that opens on a Saturday, that is respectable economy.
The world goes to the polls
Claudia Sheinbaum, a climate scientist and former Mexico City mayor, was elected Mexico's first woman president on Sunday 2 June. She took around 58 to 60 percent of the vote.
India's count on Tuesday 4 June brought a shock. Narendra Modi's party fell to 240 of 543 seats and lost its outright majority. His alliance kept power, and he was sworn in for a third term on Sunday 9 June.
Voting in the European Parliament elections ran from Thursday 6 June through Sunday 9 June across 27 member states. Turnout neared 51 percent, a two-decade high.
In London, Julian Assange walked free on Wednesday 26 June after 1,901 days in Belmarsh prison. He pleaded guilty in Saipan to a single charge and flew home to Australia.
Wembley, Munich and the summer game
Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at Wembley on Saturday 1 June to lift a record 15th European Cup. Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior scored. Euro 2024 opened on Friday 14 June, and hosts Germany beat Scotland 5-1 in Munich. It was Germany's biggest win at a European Championship.
The group stage ran on through the month's weekends, fixtures flat on the grid. Iga Swiatek won a fourth French Open on Saturday 8 June; Carlos Alcaraz took his first on Sunday 9 June.
Boeing's Starliner carried its first crew to the space station on Wednesday 5 June. SpaceX's Starship followed on Thursday 6 June with its first full test flight, booster and ship both splashing down. Starliner up on the Wednesday, Starship down on the Thursday: the launch pads barely had time to cool.
The half-year ended on Sunday 30 June, its lightest working month just behind it. July took over with an election and a football final still to play for.