The #Rio2016 Twitter data recap

By
Monday, 22 August 2016

As we bid farewell to the #Olympics after last night’s #ClosingCeremony, let’s take a look at how the event performed live on Twitter. Throughout the #Rio2016 Games, fans around the world turned to Twitter to cheer for thrilling victories, engage with athletes, see highlights, and share in the live experience. Here’s a summary of how the 2016 Olympics unfolded, as told through Twitter data.

Tweets about #Rio2016 were viewed 75 billion times
Over 187 Million Tweets were sent about the Games and in total, this led to 75 billion impressions (views on and off Twitter) of Tweets about the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. 

The #Rio2016 Twitter data recap

Top moment: #BRA wins #Gold in #Football
The roar of the crowd was felt on Twitter live every day and night of the Games. However, @neymarjr’s game winning penalty kick for Brazil in a shootout vs. #GER in the gold medal football match took top honors. Here are the three most exciting moments of #Rio2016, as measured by Tweets per minute (TPM):

The #Rio2016 Twitter data recap

Most mentioned athletes and sports
With five more #gold medals, Michael Phelps led the Twitter conversation leaderboard. If Twitter gave out medals, here’s what the podium would look like based on Twitter mentions:

The #Rio2016 Twitter data recap

And these were the most Tweeted about sports:

The #Rio2016 Twitter data recap

Most Retweeted Athlete Tweets:
Ahead of the pack in gymnastics…and on Twitter: Simone Biles sits atop her peers with some of the most Retweeted athlete Tweets during #Rio2016.

Here are the top 10 most Retweeted athlete Tweets during the games:

Highlights
Through Twitter Amplify, fans in markets such as Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States saw video highlights from their favorite events throughout the games. Here are some great highlights from @NBCOlympics in the United States:



Vine
Vine brought fans closer to the Games as well. Vine featured Olympics-related content in the Explore section on Vine’s mobile apps, and when people double-tapped a Vine from @Olympics and various team accounts, they found an Olympic Flame instead of a heart. Here are some great Vines from #Rio2016:



Is anyone faster than @usainbolt?

Twitter Moments
Twitter Moments kept fans around the world connected to the live #Rio2016 moments, Tweets and conversation. We launched a new Rio 2016 section in Moments and fans had the option to follow country specific Moments, will lasted throughout the Games. This placed the best of what was happening with your team in your timeline for the entirety of the Olympics. We’ll leave you with this recap Moment of last night’s Closing Ceremony and events: