The Red Thread: December
The Red Thread: December
Welcome to the final edition of The Red Thread for 2024, where we’ve gathered a collection of engaging articles covering a variety of topics. Discuss the ending of the Formula 1 season with Cemre; Dive into the Romanian Presidential elections with Jochem; Uncover the Roman Legacy with our guest writer Sari; and Unwrap Spotify’s Wrapped with Lotte. A big thanks to Sari for her contribution and enjoy the read!
World Champion
Cemre Suler
Kampioen! Max Verstappen won his fourth world title in Las Vegas after a thrilling Formula 1 season. Doing so wasn’t as easy as his second and third title, as the Red Bull RB-20 didn’t perform as Max wanted and the other teams like Ferrari and McLaren gained a lot of performance over the year. While Max finished first in the drivers championship, the lack of performance of his teammate Perez caused Red Bull to finish only third in the constructors championship.
However, as the fireworks are still going to celebrate the end of the season in Abu Dhabi, all eyes are already focused on 2025. Next season should be more competitive and exciting than ever. Not only are there multiple new drivers on the grid, including Mercedes prodigy Antonelli and Alonso-backed Bortoleto. There are also some interesting driver swaps with Lewis Hamilton ending his 12 years with Mercedes by going to Ferrari. Also, a big question is who is going to replace the poorly performing Perez at Red Bull, or if he can stay because of the enormous amount of sponsorship money he brings into the team.
Defending world champion Verstappen will have a lot of competition with the ultra-competitive field and the problems at Red Bull. Let’s hope these problems will be fixed before the start of the season in Australia.
There are 87 days remaining until the 2025 F1 season kicks off, luckily yesterday the PDC Darts World Championship started, with a record-breaking 16 Dutch players! Until Christmas the first two rounds will be played, after which the third and fourth rounds will be played. The finals are on at the start of 2025, on the first three days of the year. Talk about a good start to 2025.
Romania’s Election in Turmoil
Jochem van den Bosch
Romania, a country known for its picturesque Carpathian Mountains, medieval castles, and the legend of Dracula, has recently found itself at the center of one of Europe’s most contentious elections. On November 24, Romanians voted in the first round of their presidential election, where issues such as soaring inflation, persistent corruption, and foreign policy challenges dominated public concerns. Like in France, Romania’s electoral system mandates a second-round runoff if no candidate wins over 50% of the vote in the first round.
In a shocking outcome, far-right candidate Călin Georgescu, a political outsider, emerged as the frontrunner with almost 23% of the vote, far surpassing polls that had projected him at just 10%. The race for second place, and a spot in the runoff, was razor-thin. Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union narrowly edged out Social Democratic Party leader Marcel Ciolacu by less than 3,000 votes, securing her place in the next round.
However, the anticipated second-round vote, scheduled for December 8, was abruptly canceled. On December 6, Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the first-round results, citing evidence of Russian hybrid attacks, including misinformation campaigns and cyberattacks. While a recount confirmed the accuracy of the original vote tally, declassified intelligence revealed that Georgescu’s campaign had benefited from external financial support and propaganda efforts favoring his candidacy. The annulment has sparked public outrage, with Georgescu criticizing the court’s decision as undermining democracy, which was also supported the other second-round candidate, Elena Lasconi.
Romania now faces a period of political instability and uncertainty. It is still unsure when the presidential elections will be held. As the dust settles, one thing is certain: Romania’s democracy is being tested, and the world is watching closely.
Rome's Lasting Legacy
Sari Hermans
Energized by the release of the movie Gladiator II, the Roman Empire has once again become a topic of interest. This is not undeserved, since it was one of the most influential civilizations ever to exist. Originating in Rome, the empire expanded across Europe, the Middle East, and even Northern Africa.
The influences of this empire are still visible today. The Romans developed many innovations that continue to influence our daily lives like roads and infrastructure, aqueducts, and the calendar. Furthermore, their republic governance inspired many modern democracies today, especially in balancing power through institutions. Their legal system emphasized principles such as justice and equality and laid the foundation for modern legal codes.
Culturally, the Romans absorbed many aspects of Greek art, philosophy, and literature while simultaneously adding their own distinct contributions. Famous architectural creations like the Pantheon and the Colosseum showcase their engineering expertise. The official language of the empire, Latin, is the foundation for many languages and is still widely studied. Just like all ancient civilizations we know of, the Roman Empire also came to an end. In the West, it survived until 476 CE and in the East until 1453 CE. However, its legacy will endure.
Spotify unwrapped itself
Lotte Witke
The year is ending and that means the day has also come that most music lovers look forward to has rolled around the corner. Spotify Wrapped was released, revealing interesting insights into one’s listening habits. Whereas other years users could expect extensive, Instagram story-like presentations of their listening habits, this year social media took the stage to complain about the minimalistic results. Although A LOT of users still took the chance to share their statistics on the socials and several brands took on the opportunity to use it in their holiday campaigns, it was only a veil over what actually happened at Spotify the past year.
You know what? Spotify laid off their main data experts! The people coming up with those funny statistics people were getting used to, were out of a job at the beginning of the year. Spotify did an entire reorganisation, which led to users expressing frustration over inaccuracies in their Wrapped statistics, with some reporting songs and artists they scarcely listened to appearing in their top lists. One important lesson: never let go of us; the data-specialists!
From a social media standpoint, slashing resources for Spotify Wrapped might be one of the most short-sighted decisions the Swedish tech giant has ever made. Wrapped isn't just a feature—it's a cultural event, a free marketing campaign that millions of users eagerly participate in by sharing screenshots and stories. It’s an organic way to dominate timelines and remind the world why Spotify stands out. By compromising on this beloved tradition, Spotify risks losing the viral momentum that made it not just a streaming service, but a conversation starter. In the world of social media, few things are as powerful as free, enthusiastic word-of-mouth—and Spotify just put that at risk.
