When the world’s best athletes face off in Sochi, global leaders turn to Twitter to represent their country. Tweets from heads of state and foreign ministers offer a glimpse into the conversations (and friendly wagers) that used to happen only in executive chambers — or on red alert phones.
Since the USA and Canada are intense rivals on the ice, President Obama (@WhiteHouse) and Prime Minister Harper (@PMHarper) shared the news of their hockey bet:
As soon as the thrilling women’s hockey game was decided, @PMHarper made sure that the @WhiteHouse was ready to keep up its end of the bargain:
Perhaps they were inspired by their chief diplomats: early this week U.S. Secretary of State @JohnKerry and Canada Foreign Minister @HonJohnBaird also put some brews on the line:
When athletes do achieve their Olympic dreams, they can expect a hero’s welcome on Twitter from fans back home. Among those fans, they’ll often find leaders of their government:
In Germany, @RegSprecher, spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel, is live-tweeting every #WirfuerD medal:
French officials are also closely following the #JO2014 on Twitter, sharing their reactions:
Whether rallying around #Сочи or #소치파이팅, #allezlesbleus or #WirfuerD, Twitter is bringing global diplomacy to #sochi2014.