TikTok Olympics and the Snapchat Summer: How Paris 2024 went digital
Whether it was a Peter Griffin Family Guy soundtrack on Rachael Gunn’s breaking routine or Henrik Christiansen on TikTok with his chocolate muffins, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have been dominated by social media and digital experiences.
Content has engaged audiences, sent moments viral and, at times, encouraged trolling – but Paris 2024 felt like a real step change in how audiences consume elite sport and the Olympic Games.
“The Olympics has been one of the biggest content moments in TikTok’s history,” TikTok global head of sports partnerships Rollo Goldstaub told City A.M.
“On the first day of the Olympics, more than 54,000 videos were created under #Olympics, a 1,482 per cent increase on Tokyo. Every day, more and more people come to TikTok to celebrate the Games.”
But the Chinese-owned app isn’t the only one benefiting from the 33rd Olympiad.
Olympic experts
“Everyone in the Olympics became an expert on shooting or archery,” Kahlen Macaulay, Snapchat’s Head of Sports Partnerships, explained to City A.M.
“And that’s the joy of the Olympics. I’m a massive Olympics fan. You find yourself saying ‘what is this?’
“The stories are so powerful. On Snapchat, what we’ve seen is that while the Olympics has a huge effect on engagement we’re able to see that there’s a legacy here of interest.
“We reach 422m people every single day, and over 800m people on a monthly basis. But the interesting point about that is the audience profile demographic. We reach 90 per cent of 13 to 24-year-olds, including in the UK, and 75 per cent of 13 to 34-year-olds.”
Even popular fitness firm Strava, arguably a wellness social media app, saw athletes such as silver medal time trialist Anna Henderson and gold medal-winning rower Imogen Grant upload their medal sessions.
TikTok + Snapchat power
But amidst the fun and excitement of what a Brat Summer looks like in the Paris 2024 Olympic Village, social media can be a serious force for serious good; such as the mass sharing of Sifan Hassan wearing a hijab when collecting her marathon gold in a host country that has banned French athletes from wearing the garment.
And the summer of sport is not over, with the Paralympics set to begin soon.
“TikTok is the Official Partner of both Team GB and ParalympicsGB this summer,” added Goldstaub. “Ahead of the Paralympics, we have ran bespoke content workshops for ParalympicsGB athletes, and during the Games, there will be a purpose-built content creation space at ParalympicsGB House to help ParalympicsGB athletes utilise TikTok to engage with new audiences, build their personal fan bases and champion change for people with disabilities.”
Right, time to get back to Rachael Gunn’s breaking memes once again.