This year’s Olympic Games generated more than twenty million interactions with athletes and teams on Facebook and Instagram, cementing the Tokyo 2020 Australian Olympic Team as the most engaging Australian sports Team ever on the platforms, for any sporting event.
Globally, over the course of the Olympics, athletes gained more than 75 million followers on Instagram, drove more than 410 million interactions, and posted more than 300,000 stories.
Through Facebook, an official sponsor to the Australian Olympic Team, fans had a virtual “front-row seat” at this year’s Games. From athlete posts and behind-the-scenes video to product experiences such as FaceFilters and Profile Frames, these exclusive features helped Australians express their fandom and connect with athletes competing at the Games.
In Australia we saw record numbers:
- More than 20 million interactions with athletes and teams, across Facebook and Instagram
- Through our partnership with the Australian Olympic Team the Green and Gold FaceFilters and frames were used by athletes and fans 6,000 times during the Games.
- The most-watched video on the Australian Olympic Team’s Facebook page was of Emma McKeon’s family watching her 100M Freestyle Final –https://business.facebook.com/AUSOlympicTeam/videos/1301432236956203/
Jessica Fox, Australian canoe slalom gold medallist, won on Instagram as two of her Reels were in the top three most played Reels of the Games, worldwide:
- https://www.instagram.com/reel/CRrOSfGHpZS/ – Leticia Bufoni (Brazil)
- https://www.instagram.com/reel/CR-J9BfBKQ2/ – Jessica Fox
- https://www.instagram.com/reel/CSTePmaDgU4/ – Jessica Fox
Since the start of the Olympics, Aussie women have been the biggest winners on Instagram, gaining the most number of followers:
- 1# Ariarne Titmus, + 107,962 followers
- 2# Jessica Fox, + 94,548 followers
- 3# Riley Day, + 70,366 followers
Skateboarder Shane O’Neill’s post congratulating rival Yuto Horigome is the most popular AU athlete post on Instagram to date. The video of Yuto Horigome in action has had over half a million views.
Matt Carroll AM, CEO of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), said: “The support we saw for our Australian Olympic Team on Facebook and Instagram this Olympics was unlike any Games before. Tokyo 2020 truly was the ‘Instagram Games’ – we watched our feeds turn Green and Gold, the #TokyoTogether hashtag reign supreme and saw athletes’ followings spike as Aussies marvelled in their achievements.
“The athlete side of social media is very important for us as we work towards helping athletes build their personal profile, giving them a platform to tell their story, promote their sports and attract personal sponsors. We can’t wait to see this momentum continue into the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”
Will Easton, Managing Director, Facebook Australia and New Zealand, added “Sports have the unique power to build community and bring people together. While we may not have been able to support our Aussie athletes in the grandstands this Olympics, Facebook and Instagram brought us as close to the action as we’ve ever been,”
“Tokyo 2020 saw Aussies interact with and share so many moments at home – from Ariarne Titmus’ coach’s wild reaction, to Jessica Fox’s Gold medal-winning performance. We’re thrilled to have provided a platform for sports fans to rally behind the Australian Olympic Team and connect with other fans. We’re so proud of our Olympians and look forward to continuing to support their achievements into the next Games.”
