diff --git a/src/events.cpp b/src/events.cpp
index 87b560286e9b..e6bc4c7a9ccb 100644
--- a/src/events.cpp
+++ b/src/events.cpp
@@ -186,8 +186,8 @@ context::~context()
 // a new event context is created when e.g. a modal dialog is opened, and then
 // closed when that dialog is closed. Each context contains a list of the handlers
 // in that context. The current context is the one on the top of the stack.
-// The global context must always be in the first position.
-std::deque<context> event_contexts;
+// The global context must always be in the first position, so we initialize it here.
+std::deque<context> event_contexts(1);
 
 std::vector<pump_monitor*> pump_monitors;
 
diff --git a/src/wesnoth.cpp b/src/wesnoth.cpp
index 4f5dd85ad4c8..6803126aab5e 100644
--- a/src/wesnoth.cpp
+++ b/src/wesnoth.cpp
@@ -1112,9 +1112,6 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv)
 	sigaction(SIGCHLD, &terminate_handler, nullptr);
 #endif
 
-	// declare this here so that it will always be at the front of the event queue.
-	events::event_context global_context;
-
 	SDL_StartTextInput();
 
 	try {