Follow the Rio 2016 @Olympics on Twitter, Vine, and Periscope

The Rio 2016 Olympic Games begin this Friday with the #OpeningCeremony at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and fans around the world can stay close to all of the action on Twitter, Vine and Periscope. Here’s your how-to-follow guide.

Twitter Emojis and key accounts
The best way to stay close to the Olympics conversation on Twitter is by following the official hashtag, #Rio2016, and these official accounts:

• @Olympics
• @OlympicFlame
• @Rio2016
• @Rio2016_en

Fans across the globe can share their passion for their favorite teams on Twitter with 207 team emojis. Tweeting with the three-letter country code hashtag will trigger flag emojis for every team, including the Refugee Olympic Team (#ROT).

Fans can also trigger over 50 Olympics and sports emojis on Twitter: 

The hashtags that trigger the emojis will be available in English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. The hashtags that trigger sports emojis, as well as #Rio2016 and #Olympics, are also available in Japanese, Korean, and Arabic. All emojis will be available in the coming days.

Athletes helped spread the emoji message today:

Through Twitter Amplify, fans in markets such as such as Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, United States and others will be able to see video highlights from their favorite events throughout the games.

Another great way to join the conversation on Twitter is to follow the athletes going to Rio. This Twitter list will connect you on Twitter with athletes in Rio. Also, tap the Connect tab on Twitter for iOS and Android to see even more Olympics related accounts to follow.

Moments

Just in time for the Games, there is a new Rio 2016 section in Moments and it’s easier than ever to follow along with everything related to your team.

You’ll see the option to follow country specific Moments, which will last throughout the Games, so the best of what’s happening with your team will appear in your timeline for the entirety of the Olympics. You can also just opt to follow your favorite sports and events to see these Tweets in your timeline, or catch up on what you missed every day with recap Moments that will highlight results, medal counts and more. Of course, when a Moment that you follow ends, so do the Tweets, leaving your timeline the way it was before. Get ready for the Games and check out the Rio 2016 section in the Moments lightning bolt tab now – all these types of Moments will be available in the coming days.*

*The Moments tab is available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom and the United States. Country specific Moments are available in these places as well as Germany, France and Japan.

Periscope and Vine

Periscope and Vine will bring fans closer to the Games as well. Periscope will have a featured channel with Olympics-related content. Vine will also feature Olympics-related content in the Explore section on Vine’s mobile apps, and when people double-tap a Vine from @Olympics and various team accounts, they’ll find an Olympic Flame instead of a heart.

Rio
Fans in Rio will also feel the Olympic spirit through Twitter. Tweets from all over the world will be projected live on Rio’s aqueduct Arcos da Lapa. Additionally, a customized tour bus called ‘Twitter Buzz’ will be displaying live Tweets and Periscope broadcasts through its windows in routes around the city, offering free wi-fi to enhance the fan experience.

Twitter Data
Ahead of the Games, the conversation on Twitter has heated up all summer long. These are the countries that have seen fans Tweet the most about the Olympics over the summer:

Here are the most mentioned and anticipated Olympic sports on Twitter over the summer:

And these were the most mentioned athletes on Twitter this summer:

Team #USA

Fans in the U.S. should follow @TeamUSA and Tweet with #USA and #TeamUSA to join the conversation. NBC, the official U.S. broadcaster, will also keep fans in the know via @NBCOlympics, @NBCSports, and @NBCSN.