The biggest sporting events of 2017

This year's Super Bowl, like the 50 that have come before it, is guaranteed to be an all-American extravaganza. While the teams are yet to be decided, what is for certain is that Lady Gaga will headline the famous halftime show at Houston's NGR Stadium. The venue, home to NFL's Houston Texans, will host the event on February 5

The 31st edition of the tournament will take place in Gabon, home to Borussia Dortmund's star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Fans will have high expectations for the hosts but success won't come easy. The competition will feature some of the best players from the Bundesliga and further afield with Senegal, Ghana and reigning champions Ivory Coast all likely to be in the mix.

Current European champions Germany are among the favorites to win the 2017 World Handball Championhip in France and they'll be looking to send off departing coach Dagur Sigurdsson (pictured) with a win. The Icelander will coach Japan's national team after the championship and he'll hope his last match with German is the final on January 29 in Paris.

Around 600 skiers will battle it out from February 6 until February 19 at the luxury resort of St. Moritz in the Swiss Alps. This will be the 44th edition of the championships and the fifth time that it has been held at St. Moritz. Downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super G and Alpine combined will be the disciplines on show.

Also at the beginning of February, cross-country skiers from all over the world will descend on the Austrian town of Hochfilzen. Germany's hopes lie with Petra Dahlmeier. The same goes for ski jumper Severin Freund (pictured) at the Nordic World Ski Championship, which takes place in Lahti, Finland, at the end of the month.

The last time the Ice Hockey World Championship was held in Germany, in 2010, the national team finished fourth. Will the Germans be able to make even more of their home-ice advantage this time? Germany will be up against the United States, Sweden, Russia, Slovakia, Denmark, Latvia and Italy in Group A games to be played in Cologne. The Group B matches are to be played in Paris.

Will Lewis Hamilton be able to keep the F1 title at Mercedes following the retirement of current drivers' champion Nico Rosberg? Or will the rest of the field finally be able to give the Englishman and his German team a run for their money? Red Bull's Max Verstappen has shown plenty of promise and Sebastian Vettel could be a contender if his Ferrari improves.

The 2017 Women's Euro is another 2017 event in which the German team are among the favorites. The defending champions added Olympic gold to their medal collection just months ago and they'll face Sweden, Italy and Russia in Group B.

There will be only 36 kilometers of time trials and fewer climbs, than usual in 2017, although the inclines that there will be are quite steep. Chris Froome will be hoping to defend his title but there will be plenty of pretenders to the throne, with German rider Tony Martin among those expected to challenge the Brit. The Tour begins in Düsseldorf on July 1.

London demonstrated its enthusiasm for athletics at the 2012 Olympic Games, and the organizers of the IAAF World Championships will hope for a similar reaction in the British capital this summer. Local favorite Mo Farah (pictured) will be among those expected to pick up medals when the event kicks off in August. Germany's hopes, as usual, will lie mainly in the throwing events.