Olympics diplomacy on Twitter

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:

Congratulations #Sochi20

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:

Félicitations #Sochi2014

Whether rallying around #Сочи or #소치파이팅, #allezlesbleus or #WirfuerD, Twitter is bringing global diplomacy to #sochi2014.