Test your knowledge of 2023 with The Scotsman's Big Boxing Day quiz

Thinking caps on, it is time to test your knowledge with our annual 100 question quiz.

The Scotsman's quiz of the year

Some questions are easy, others are ridiculously hard, and a few frankly impossible. Good luck and no cheating.

AROUND SCOTLAND

1 What is the current price-tag for completing the delayed Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa ferries?

2 Which Paisley-born renowned artist and playwright sadly died this year at the age of 83?

3 What are the names of the pandas who returned to China from Edinburgh Zoo?

4 Name the storm which caused devastation to homes and businesses in the north-east in October?

5 Which site in Scotland became the UK’s first licensed spaceport?

6 The statue of which famous literary character returned home to Picardy Place in Edinburgh?

7 The face of which Scottish historical figure was recreated using death masks by the University of Dundee?

8 Who is chairing the Scottish Covid-19 inquiry?

9 Name the major cycling event staged in Scotland in August?

10 A new sword was added to the Honours of Scotland and presented to King Charles in July, but what is it called?

POLITICS

1 Lord Cameron became the 15th former prime minister to serve in a later government led by someone else when Rishi Sunak appointed him as Foreign Secretary in November. Who was the most recent previous ex-premier to return to the Cabinet?

2 What is the name of the agreement announced in February to replace the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol?

3 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced in September that he would ban which breed of dog in England by the end of the year?

4 Labour made history in October by winning which constituency, with the result representing the largest numerical Conservative majority (24,664) to be overturned by the party at a by-election since 1945?

5 Who in October became the Alba Party’s first MSP?

6 In May, who became the first MP for the Reclaim Party two weeks after he was expelled from the Conservative Party?

7 Home Secretary James Cleverly was at the centre of a controversy in November over which Commons constituency when he was accused of using derogatory language about it?

8 Why did Lancashire Police issue Rishi Sunak with a fixed penalty notice in January?

9 Who was announced in June as the new leader of Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Parliament’s third biggest party?

10 Which Scottish Government minister had to pay back a £10,935.74 roaming bill after his teenage sons used his Holyrood-issued iPad to watch football matches while on holiday in Morocco?

AROUND THE WORLD

1 Which major world figure did not attend Cop28 after catching the flu in the days leading up to the climate change summit?

2 Which global fast food chain is still operating in Russia after most pulled out of the country due to the war in Ukraine?

3 What is the name of the only border crossing out of Gaza into a country other than Israel?

4 Which Italian city is set to implement a daily tourist tax for any visitors – even if they are not staying overnight?

5 What is the name of the disputed region which lies between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which in September was taken under full Armenian control?

6 In which South African city were 73 people killed after a fire broke out in a residential building in August?

7 India this year became the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the Moon, but what other nations have done so before?

8 Which river was deemed safe to swim in for the first time in 100 years after remedial works?

9 What was the name of the submersible vessel which disappeared while on an exploration expedition to the Titanic?

10 Which two countries were hit in February by a major earthquake of 7.8 magnitude, which killed almost 60,000 people?

SPORT

1 Who was Scotland's top goalscorer in their successful Euro 2024 qualification campaign?

2 Who knocked Andy Murray out of this year's Wimbledon?

3 Which Scottish-trained horse won this year's Grand National?

4 Which team finished bottom of the cinch Premiership at the end of the 2022/23 campaign?

5 Which two teams did Scotland defeat at this year's Rugby World Cup?

6 Where does Scottish golfer Bob MacIntyre plan to base himself next year after migrating to the PGA Tour?

7 Which two Scottish athletes split from coach Andy Young in March 2023?

8 Who defeated Glasgow Warriors in the 2023 Challenge Cup final?

9 Scotland stand-off Finn Russell left which club to join Bath last summer?

10 Who won the 2023 Masters?

IN THE ARTS

1 Which film set in the Outer Hebrides opened the Edinburgh International Film Festival?

2 Which reunited Britpop group were one of the headliners at this year's TRNSMT music festival in Glasgow?

3 Who played Ian Rankin's retired detective John Rebus on stage in London?

4 Which novel by the late Glasgow author Alasdair Gray was adapted into a new feature film starring Emma Stone?

5 Which actress picked up two BAFTA Awards for her depiction of Karen Pirie, the detective from Val McDermid's books?

6 Where was Radio 1's Big Weekend event held in Scotland?

7 Which classic horror story with links to Aberdeenshire was adapted for the stage by the National Theatre of Scotland?

8 Which actress took over the lead role in the long-running crime drama series Shetland?

9 Which comic returned to appear at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe after the plug was pulled on his show in 2022?

10 Which act played homecoming shows in Leith in the summer?

ODDS AND ENDS

​1 Bella, a 14-year-old cat from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, became the holder of which Guinness World Record?

2 Engineers working on sewers in Gloucestershire removed what “unusual” blockage from the underground pipes?

3 What type of pets gained their own air-conditioned haven when mother-of-four Lesley Herbert won £2 million on a National Lottery scratchcard?

4 Eurovision fans flying to Liverpool were served by cabin crew from which airline dressed in memorable outfits from the song contest?

5 Artist Nathan Wyburn used what foodstuffs to create a portrait of the King to celebrate the coronation?

6 Dame Judi Dench has said her pet parrot Sweetheart hardly ever speaks but once said the name of which politician “clear as day”?

7 Endurance runner Sally Orange, who became an MBE for charity fundraising, is thought to be the only person to have done what?

8 Comedian and actor Les Dennis denied which social media rumour which was started after a joke by comedian Adam Rowe?

9 Farmer Tom Pearcy cut more than 5km of pathways into a 15-acre field at York Maze, which contains more than a million maize plants, to create a huge image of which figure from history?

10 Which TV chef joined TikTok star Nick DiGiovanni to create a Guinness World Record beef wellington weighing around 25.76kg (56.79lb)?

SHOWBIZ

1 Which actor withdrew from Strictly Come Dancing after sustaining an injury to his ribs?

2 Who became the first woman from an Asian background to win the Oscar for leading actress in March?

3 Who won the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Liverpool in May, and which country did she represent?

4 Which pop superstar was forced to postpone tour dates in June after spending several days in intensive care with a bacterial infection?

5 Which two blockbuster films were released on the same day in July, with many cinemagoers purchasing back-to-back tickets?

6 Sam Thompson was crowned king of the jungle on ITV1 reality show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! but who was the runner-up?

7 Whose much-anticipated memoir titled The Woman In Me was published in October?

8 What was the name of the Rolling Stones’ first studio album of original material since 2005, released in October?

9 The Beatles topped the UK singles chart in November with their song Now And Then. In which year was the group’s most recent previous number one?

10 Which popular TV series celebrated its 60th anniversary with three special episodes in November and December?

WHO SAID IT?

1 Which comedian said “I take great care in the words I use and when I use swearwords, I mean to use them. I don’t like a loose use of filth. I like a precise use of filth” when asked about a foul-mouthed blunder about Jeremy Hunt on Radio 4’s Today programme the previous October?

2 Who was Grant Shapps speaking about in January when he said “I simply told the team he needs hair-brushing, not airbrushing”?

3 Who said “we can’t control the weather in Spain” when confronted with the news that supermarkets were limiting sales of fruit and vegetables?

4 Which DJ said “in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make and I have loved being here with you” as they signed off from their BBC Radio 2 programme for the last time?

5 Which member of the royal family declared himself “a masala man” while on a visit to an Indian street food restaurant in Birmingham this April?

6 Name the Australian musician who defended his decision to attend the coronation by saying “I am not a monarchist, nor am I a royalist, nor am I an ardent republican for that matter; what I am also not is so spectacularly incurious about the world and the way it works, so ideologically captured, so damn grouchy, as to refuse an invitation to what will more than likely be the most important historical event in the UK of our age”.

7 Which England star said this about the popularity of women’s football: “The one thing now is even my dog gets recognised. Even if I am not walking her, people know who my dog is”?

8 Which Britpop star said “tonight, the Manchester rain will taste like champagne” after Manchester City’s Champions League victory?

9 Which artist said “for the first 20 years of my career, I was the transvestite potter, that was my kind of brand. But, of course, now you can’t say that. Now I’m the transvestite ceramicist”?

10 Which politician was Sky News’s deputy political editor Sam Coates talking about when he said “for centrist dads, daddy has come home”?

ROYALS

1 Where was the award ceremony of Prince of Wales’s Earthshot Prize held this year?

2 Which country did the King and Queen visit at the end of October and beginning of November?

3 How much did the funeral and lying-in-state of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 cost the UK Government, according to Treasury figures published in May?

4 Why was Charles and Camilla’s state visit to France, due to be the first of the King’s reign, postponed in March?

5 The Queen said she had fulfilled her late father’s long-held ambition when she became colonel-in-chief of his former regiment. Which regiment is it?

6 Who prompted a wave of praise and social media memes for her handling of the Sword of State at the coronation?

7 According to Nielsen BookData, how many copies of Harry’s autobiography Spare were sold in its first week to become the fastest-selling non-fiction book in the UK since records began in 1998?

8 What did the King present to K-pop band Blackpink at Buckingham Palace during the state visit of South Korea’s president and first lady in November?

9 By what other name is the Stone of Destiny, a 152kg slab of pinkish sandstone on which Scottish kings were crowned for centuries, known?

10 Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank welcomed their second son at the end of May. What is his name?

BIRTHS, DEATHS AND MARRIAGES

1 World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton, who died in October at the age of 86, played most of his club career for which side?

2 The Prince and Princess of Wales made a surprise trip to Jordan in June to attend the wedding of which member of the country’s royal family?

3 Adepeju Opayemi, 30, from Hackney, made headlines after she gave birth to her son on which unusual location in May?

4 A Just Stop Oil protester attempted to disrupt the wedding of which former chancellor in July?

5 Battersea Dogs and Cats home named its veterinary hospital after which comedian and long-term ambassador for the rescue centre following his death in March?

6 Love Island couple Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury welcomed their first child in January but what did they name their daughter?

7 Football commentator John Motson, who died in February, was most associated with what item of clothing?

8 Media personality Paris Hilton named her daughter, born in November, after which UK city?

9 Nigel Lawson, who died in April at the age of 91, was best known as the long-serving chancellor of which prime minister?

10 Which actress, who founded Our Dementia Choir, had the group sing at her wedding to film director Jonny Owen in August?

ANSWERS

AROUND SCOTLAND

1 £360 million

2 John Byrne

3 Yang Guang and Tian Tian

4 Storm Babet

5 SaxaVord Spaceport on Unst

6 Sherlock Holmes

7 Bonnie Prince Charlie

8 Lord Brailsford

9 UCI Cycling World Championships

10 Elizabeth Sword

POLITICS

1 Sir Alec Douglas-Home, who was prime minister for just under a year from October 1963, and served as foreign secretary under Edward Heath for four years from 1970.

2 The Windsor Framework.

3 American XL bully dogs.

4 Mid Bedfordshire, the seat previously held by former Cabinet minister Nadine Dorries.

5 Ash Regan, the former SNP leadership campaign who secured just over 11 per cent of the votes in the contest in March.

6 Andrew Bridgen, who represents North West Leicestershire.

7 Stockton North – the Cabinet minister apologised but insisted his “inappropriate language” was aimed at the constituency’s MP Alex Cunningham, not the place.

8 For failing to wear a seatbelt. The Prime Minister was filming an Instagram video to promote levelling up funding in the back of a moving car

9 Rhun ap Iorweth, who was the only candidate to succeed Adam Price.

10 Michael Matheson.

AROUND THE WORLD

1 Pope Francis

2 Burger King

3 Rafah Crossing

4 Venice

5 Nagorno-Karabakh

6 Johannesburg

7 United States, the (former) Soviet Union and China

8 The Seine in Paris

9 The Titan

10 Syria and Turkey

SPORT

1 Scott McTominay

2 Stefanos Tsitsipas

3 Corach Rambler

4 Dundee United

5 Tonga and Romania

6 Orlando

7 Laura Muir and Jemma Reekie

8 Toulon

9 Racing92

10 Jon Rahm

IN THE ARTS

1 Silent Roar

2 Pulp

3 John Michie

4 Poor Things

5 Lauren Lyle

6 Dundee

7 Dracula

8 Ashley Jensen

9 Jerry Sadowitz

10 The Proclaimers

ODDS AND ENDS

1 Loudest purr which was measured at 54.6 decibels – which is equivalent to the volume of a boiling kettle.

2 A duck which was believed to have been searching for algae to eat.

3 African grey parrots Alfie and Sonny.

4 EasyJet.

5 Marmite and 42 slices of toasted bread.

6 Boris Johnson.

7 To have completed a marathon in every continent dressed as a piece of fruit.

8 That he was secretly a horse.

9 Tutankhamun.

10 Gordon Ramsay.

SHOWBIZ

1 Nigel Harman.

2 Michelle Yeoh.

3 Loreen, representing Sweden.

4 Madonna.

5 Barbie and Oppenheimer.

6 Former professional boxer Tony Bellew.

7 Britney Spears.

8 Hackney Diamonds.

9 1969.

10 Doctor Who.

WHO SAID IT?

1 Miriam Margoyles.

2 Former prime minister Boris Johnson who had been “inadvertently” airbrushed out of a photo celebrating a space launch in Cornwall.

3 Then-environment secretary Therese Coffey.

4 Ken Bruce.

5 The Prince of Wales.

6 Nick Cave.

7 Lucy Bronze.

8 Noel Gallagher.

9 Sir Grayson Perry.

10 David Cameron.

ROYALS

1 Singapore.

2 Kenya.

3 An estimated £161.7 million.

4 Violent protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s retirement age reforms.

5 Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths’ Own).

6 Penny Mordaunt.

7 467,183.

8 Honorary MBEs.

9 Stone of Scone.

10 Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank.

BIRTHS, DEATHS AND MARRIAGES

1 Manchester United.

2 Crown Prince Hussein.

3 A National Express coach.

4 George Osborne.

5 Paul O’Grady.

6 Bambi.

7 Sheepskin coat.

8 London.

9. Margaret Thatcher.

10 Vicky McClure.

Compiled by Alan Young, Mark Atkinson, Jane Bradley, Brian Ferguson,