How's the Olympics resonating on social media (so far)?
The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo are well under way (yes we wish it was 2021 too, cough cough Euro 2020), but there’s no doubt this year's games has a completely unique feel. The big difference? Of course, no crowd.
Thousands of raucous fans have been replaced with lonely, empty seats due to covid’s continued grapple on the world’s sporting events, and the world in general. Obviously, the ocean of empty seats is incredibly disappointing, but for an Olympics whose very existence hung in the balance, we can be thankful it’s even on.
Predictably, social media has exploded into life, only heightened by the lack of physical connection to the events. But what's been the general reaction? Will it be an Olympics forever etched into immortality? Or do we need to swiftly move onto Paris 2024? Let's have a look at how the Games are resonating so far…
Athlete social media takeover
In 2021 it’s impossible to not talk about TikTok. Due to the lack of fans at this year's Olympics, the platform has become an ideal location for interactions with star athletes. The app has given viewers an amazing chance to see behind the scenes content, while also showing off various athlete personalities. It’s a refreshing difference to the slick and edited content often found on television.
US Olympian, Ilona Maher, has been one of the stand out personalities on TikTok. The rugby players' witty banter and insight into the Olympic village has had the world howling. Nigerian basketball player, Erica Ogwumike, has provided some interesting TikTok content by showing the world her daily routine in the village. Rather her than me. Turns out these elite athletes are just as funny as they are competitive, and those two are just the tip of the iceberg.
Does Simone Biles represent a change in attitude towards elite competition?
Arguably, the biggest story of the Olympics so far has been US gymnast Simone Biles pulling out of various events to focus on her mental health. The four-time Olympic gold medalist shocked the world when she withdrew from the women’s team final, but soon revealed she hadn’t been in the “right headspace” to compete. The moment marked a huge moment for mental health, especially in sport. There’s no doubt that seeing one of the planets biggest athletes be courageous enough to shed light on the subject was extremely poignant.
The overall social media reaction was extremely supportive. Many compared it to Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open and focused on how this year could forever change attitudes towards mental health in sport. However, some celebrity personalities, such as Piers Morgan, branded Biles as “selfish” and a “quitter”. His argument sparked a fierce war of words on Twitter. Seemingly, the debate on mental health and sport, while making strides in 2021, is not over by any stretch of the imagination.
The good, the bad, and the downright ridiculous
The Olympics never fails to produce viral moments, sometimes for the best and sometimes for the worst. For a variety of reasons, the beds in the Olympic village have been a hot topic of conversation. Made out of cardboard, they were produced to be good for the environment but potentially purposely bad for something else...We’ll let you decide on that one.
Speaking of passion, an Australian swimming coach went viral for some hilarious celebrations, and it turns out robots are better than humans at basketball. You have to see it to believe it. Sadly, many viewers in the UK have been disappointed with the BBC’s coverage of the Games this year, with many taking to Twitter to vent their anger. The BBC have lost the rights to show much of the Olympic coverage and the broadcaster can now only show two sports at any one time. Their usual expansive coverage of the games enabled 26 live streams at Rio 2016.
While these are the moments of the Olympics so far, there’s certainly a long way to go and more viral moments to be had.
