Google has just revealed their latest trends report, and as well as the most popular movies, TV shows and YouTube videos, the most talked about events across the globe are also revealed, as we look back at what happened in 2013:
Boston Marathon – April 15 2013 should have been remembered for one of the most prestigious marathon events on the annual calendar, but instead the explosion of two bombs on the finish line put the race in the news for all the wrong reasons, with two lives claimed.
Typhoon Haiyan – The super typhoon Haiyan ranked as a category five cyclone and devastated regions of Southeast Asia in early November. It hit the Philippines particularly hard with more than 6,000 people killed and many thousands more displaced.
Government Shutdown – the federal government shutdown took the world by surprise in October 2013, causing major disruption to essential services and iconic tourist sites. From 1 to 16 October the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island had to turn thousands of tourists away, as did overseas sights, which relied on American staff to run.
2014 FIFA World Cup – To say that the Brazil World Cup is going to be the most thrilling event of 2014 is something of an understatement! Excitement in the world’s biggest sports events peaked last December when the hotly anticipated draw took place. All eyes will be on Brazil for both the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.
Chinese New Year – Chinese communities across the world really celebrate each New Year with fervour. The deeply traditional Lantern Festival closes the old year and symbolic food, prayers and festivals welcome in the new year, which in 2014 – the year of the horse - falls on 31 January (in line with the lunar calendar).
Australian Open – The two week Australian Open tennis tournament is held each January in Melbourne. The first event on the annual Grand Slam calendar saw Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka take the men’s and women’s singles titles.
Eurovision Song Contest – We watch, we sing and we cringe when the scores don’t go our way – but this is all part of the great cultural institution of Eurovision. In 2013 Malmö in Sweden hosted the 39 entries with Emmelie de Forest winning with ‘Only Teardrops’. This year’s contest will be held in Copenhagen in Denmark.
Wimbledon – The most iconic tennis tournament on earth really captured people imaginations in this year as Andy Murray finally won the men’s singles event – the first Brit to do so for over 70 years! His emotional celebrations really touched the heart and won him the Sports Personality of the Year accolade. And in case you wondered, the women’s singles event was won by Marion Bartoli
Syria Conflict – The world continues to look on at events unfolding in Syria as the situation dominated the google trends reports in 2013.
EuroBasket – The third most talked about sport this year (after football and tennis) was basketball, with the European Basketball Championship, aka EuroBasket. Held since 1935, a total of 24 teams compete, with 2013’s tournament held in Ljubljana in Slovenia. France took gold, with Lithuania taking silver.
And in case you wondered about the aforementioned most-popular global movies, TV shows and YouTube videos: Man of Steel, Under the Dome and Ylvis, The Fox ruled 2013!
