How Canadians can follow the Games on Twitter

The world’s attention will turn to Tokyo in the coming days with the Games getting underway on Friday, July 23. Before, during and after the big event, Twitter will be home to premium content, real-time reactions and the best conversation as fans in Canada and beyond cheer on top athletes from around the world. 

Our research shows that for Canadians on Twitter, the Games are the #1 sports event they are most excited about. Canadians on Twitter are also more likely to forgo sleep to watch key events than those not on Twitter, showing that Twitter is home to some of the most enthusiastic audiences you’ll find anywhere.

Team Canada (@TeamCanada) and CDN Paralympics (@CDNParalympics) are getting in on the excitement as well with their joint custom Twitter emoji, which unlocks any time you use the #TeamCanada or #ÉquipeCanada hashtag. @TeamCanada has also created a new Twitter list featuring the official accounts of many top Canadian athletes who will be competing in the coming weeks. 

New Twitter Insights

On the road to Tokyo, here are the sports and Team Canada athlete accounts with the most mentions by Canadians on Twitter in 2021. These insights were gathered from all Tweets sent by Canadians between January 1, 2021 and July 15, 2021.

Sports 

1. Basketball
2. Soccer
3. Swimming
4. Track & Field
5. Tennis

Team Canada Athlete Accounts - Men

1. Félix Auger-Aliassime (@FelixTennis), tennis
2. Mackenzie Hughes (@MacHughesGolf), golf
3. Corey Conners (@coreconn), golf
4. Evan Dunfee (@EvanDunfee), race walking
5. Michael Woods (@rusty_woods), cycling

Team Canada Athlete Accounts - Women

1. Kia Nurse (@KayNurse11), basketball  
2. Brooke Hendeerson (@BrookeHenderson), golf
3. Leylah Fernandez (@Leylahfernandez), tennis 
4. Janine Beckie (@janinebeckie), soccer
5. Christine Sinclair (@sincy12), soccer

New Twitter Features

Aside from top Tweets from partners, teams and talent, Twitter will also offer a deep roster of features to help get the most out of the event this summer. Here’s a look at what to expect.

#Olympics & Country Emojis: Fans worldwide can use the official Olympics Twitter emoji throughout the Games. The emoji will unlock when you Tweet #Olympics and related hashtags in more than 30 languages. Twitter will also have emojis for each country competing, unlocked when you Tweet three-character country hashtags. Lastly, fans can cheer on the Refugee Olympic Team during the Games by Tweeting #EOR to unlock their team emoji.

#ExpertEngine Experience: Every Olympics, people confidently Tweet their "expert" opinions on sports they really don't know much about. This time we're turning fans into real experts. Simply by Tweeting #ExpertEngine @Olympics and any sporting event hashtag, such as #basketball or #swimming, fans will automatically receive a video reply teaching them all about that sport. Class is in session.

Explore Tab: When you’re in the Twitter app or on desktop, Explore catches you up on a range of subjects, curated just for you. During the Games, we will have a custom Explore tab that will highlight Event Pages, Partner Moments, Twitter Moments, and select Topics, and Lists. This will be an amazing resource to help find the best content and conversation from the Games. 

Twitter Topics: Have a favourite sports, team or athlete? Our team has created a series of custom Topics for the Games that will keep your timeline popular with top Tweets and content. You can also see Topics in search results when they’re related to searches you make, making them a great way to stay on top of what’s happening in Tokyo. 

Event Pages by Sport and by Country: Across all sports, these custom Event Pages will feature top Tweets from trusted accounts. You will be able to follow the action and reactions as they happen for the marquee events and top games. We will also have custom Event Pages dedicated to different countries. These will be home to top Tweets which capture that country’s experience.

Make no mistake, Twitter will be home to the roar of the crowd in the coming weeks and where sports fans everywhere will be coming for the latest content and conversation during the Games. Check out Twitter regularly to learn what's happening and keep an eye on this blog for an update on the biggest trends, topics and talent from the Games.