January 18-19 agenda: Martin Luther King Day

(AFP)

Monday and Tuesday's selection: National holiday in the USA, a design event in Cologne to open the season, the Australian tennis open and Hong Kong's biggest fashion event of the year, among other events.

Martin Luther King day
January 18
USA

National holiday in the USA to celebrate the birthdate (January 15 1929) of Martin Luther King, the civil rights movement's leader, assassinated in 1968.

Passagen 2010
January 18-24
Cologne, Germany

Germany's biggest design event will inaugurate the 2010 design season, with more than 150,000 international design fans traveling to Cologne to attend the country's Interior Design Week, Passagen 2010.

http://www.voggenreiter.com/passagen2010

Tennis: Australian Open
January 18-31
Melbourne, Australia

The first tennis Grand Slam tournament of 2010 marks the comeback of former world number one Justine Henin, whilst Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams return to Melbourne in defense of their 2009 titles. The official website itself is staying up to date with competitors by corralling all their official Twitter updates for easy access to the public.

http://www.australianopen.com

Hong Kong Fashion Week for Fall/Winter
January 18-21
Hong Kong

More than 2,000 exhibitors from 30 countries have signed on for the event, which will be staged at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in the city's central Wan Chai district. As the largest annual fashion industry gathering in Asia, the event has this year expanded its World Boutique section, which showcases designer labels and has attracted 250 exhibitors from 19 countries and regions.

http://hkfashionweekfw.hktdc.com