The 2024 Olympic Games have come to an end. We spent the last 16 days marvelling at the next-level skills and sporting abilities of the athletes. While we look back at the best moments of the last few weeks, we have to acknowledge the medal-worthy social media content of the 2024 Olympic Games.
All throughout the 2024 Paris Olympics, we find ourselves glued to our big screens — all while we scroll on our little screens at the same time.
For every impressive and explosive thing that happened at the 329 different medal events, there were 500 truly great pieces of social media content.
Social media has really changed the way we watch the Olympics. Twenty years ago, the Olympic Village was a magical place that was kept as some mysterious secret.
If you missed something that happened — too bad, so sad. And if you wanted to talk to someone about what you saw, you could only hope your friends and family watched the same thing.
No more!
Without further ado: media update's Alrika Möller is awarding Bronze, Silver and Gold for the social media Olympics.
Bronze Medal: The Host
Listen, I am aware that just about every sporting event festival and competition out there has its own social media accounts — so Paris 2024 didn't get any points for that. That being said, they smashed it when it came to the execution.
It is common knowledge in the social media management industry that social media can be a powerful tool to get people excited before an event happens.
In the lead-up to the Olympics, the official Paris 2024 Instagram and TikTok accounts posted a great deal of content to increase the hype. The social media team for this Olympics took to all their social accounts to share:
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behind-the-scenes footage
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the beautiful scenery at arenas, and
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videos of amazing moments at previous Olympic games.
Another way the hosts scored points is the super quick way they kept us in the loop. You thought the 100-metre dash was quick … The Paris Olympic account posted an announcement whenever a gold medal was awarded — almost the exact moment it happened.
Instagram
Someone in that social media team will be a sprinter at the next Olympics.
People really appreciated the quick updates, as not everyone was able to work from home or follow all the events. They also posted some memorable moments from both the opening and closing ceremonies while the big to-do was still going on.
Instagram
Silver Medal: The Viewers
Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen! For the first time in history, you — the viewer — are getting a medal as well. And it is well deserved, if I might add.
You see, throughout the 16 days and 329 events, you have put in the time and work to discuss almost every moment on social media at length. The posts range from memes to social media trends — and some even create videos explaining the rules and scoring of various sports.
There were the usual Olympic crushes, with people quickly falling for Italian swimmers and American gymnasts and making quite a lot of posts and 'fan edits' (I watched them all for research).
We also had a flurry of online discussions and memes regarding some mind-blowing moments. People all over the world went crazy on social media over the assassin-like Turkish shooter. When Noah Lyles won the gold medal in the 100-metre dash, by the skin of his teeth, the memes were endless.
TikTok
There is even a whole social media trend of people sharing their failed attempts at some of the sports, like gymnastics and diving. The trend is captioned 'Sad to announce I didn't make the Olympics team'. It is really funny and somewhat dangerous, but it also highlights the amazing skills of the people competing in the Olympics.
The Olympic Games is not just a sporting event; it is about bringing athletes from all over the world together in the hopes of promoting international relationships. And now — thanks to everyone's constant social media posting — the world at large is also connected with each other.
This is pretty good considering that connecting with others was the main purpose of social media when it was first created.
Instagram
Gold Medal: Olympic Athletes
Now I know that some of these athletes already have enough medals and don't need any more, but we cannot deny that they really did the most on social media during this Olympics.
I don't know if it is because of the popularity of social media, or the sheer number of Gen Z athletes this time around, but the content was top-tier. When the USA Women's Gymnastics Team won their Gold, they went viral — not only for their performance but because the camera caught them planning out their TikToks. Talk about iconic!
TikTok
Many athletes took to various social media platforms to show off their country-issued kits and tours of the Olympic Village. Some athletes jumped on the trend bandwagon and discussed the infamous cardboard beds, showing the realities of what they are like and how many rugby players they can hold. Spoiler alert — it's more than you might think!
A lot of athletes had real fun with the Olympic side of social media, but we have to give a shout-out to Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen. Christiansen went viral for his absolute love for the chocolate muffins served in the village dining hall. Videos like him hiding muffins in his nightstand and the thirst traps earned him the nickname Muffin Man.
TikTok
All of the videos and social media content posted by the athletes resulted in people like you and me supporting people and sports we never heard of before. It made the whole Olympics so much more enjoyable and interactive for those of us lucky enough to be on Olympic TikTok.
Social media might not have been a main event at the 2024 Olympics, but boy did it make the whole thing so much more fun.
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Looking for ways to keep the Olympic vibe going? Check out these Gold Medal PR moments.
*Image courtesy of Canva