We can easily say that 2021 is the year that all sports enthusiasts have been welcoming with open arms! The year has brought fans together in different highly anticipated events taking place all over the world. Yet, with COVID-19 still roaming around, stadiums have not been over-crowded as we know them to be. This is where technology becomes our lifesaver and TikTok, the leading content creation platform, becomes our new “stadium”.
The platform has been upping its game when it comes to engaging with its millions of sports creators, TikTok has been exclusively covering sports events, initiating new engaging sports challenges and lifting the overall spirits of all fans at the comfort and safety of their homes.
With the Tokyo 2021 Olympics just coming to an end, and fans from all over the world cheering for their countries’ representatives, TikTok was able to grab the attention of more than 5.8 Billion global creators. As the Olympics kick started, the platform launched its #OlympicSpirit campaign that encouraged users to show how they uplift their spirits and how they celebrate. The campaign included inspiring content and major highlights from the sports event and inspired athletes to participate. Olympic participants and medalists were seen documenting their experiences, those included: @Monicaaksamit from USA, @tillykearns from Australia, @rommel_pacheco from Mexico, amongst others.
Closely before, the highly anticipated UEFA EURO 2020 took off across Europe where TikTok became the first digital content creation platform to sponsor such a huge international championship. The platform made sure that none of its users would miss any of the events taking place nor feel a sense of boredom with a wide array of challenges, stickers, live coverage and activations taking place simultaneously.
During UEFA EURO 2020, TikTok introduced the first virtual fan pit to compensate fans for not being physically there cheering for their teams. The official account of EURO2020, which had over half a million followers and 4.3Mn reacts within the first three months, also shared behind the scenes and exclusive content with prominent players. The platform was also home to Live Talks featuring football players and key individuals in the industry.
The wide array of activities that TikTok provided throughout the month made sure that no user would run out of options to celebrate the championship! This was evident by the 1.3Bn views on #TikTokEURO2020 and through challenges such as:
· #GameReady : With over 263Mn views, users were documenting how they get ready for their favorite tournaments, whether that was the food they prepare, the clothes they wear or the company they choose to watch the matches with. Participants also had the chance to win a signed Ronaldinho jersey by Nivea Men.
· #FootballColors: Cheering their teams on, over 254Mn views documented wearing their team’s jersey as support.
· #CelebrateFootball: More than 455Mn football fans were showing how they celebrate their favorite moments from the beautiful game of football
To enhance the users’ experience and create a memorable time, TikTok also launched many interactive filters such as making your own football team or kicking any object as a football or creating your own goal and scoring!
Branching from its commitment to nurture talents and provide a safe and positive platform for content creators to express themselves and discover new talents within them, TikTok has always had sports content at the top of its priorities. The platform constantly rolls out new challenges such as the 350Mn viewed #MoveEveryDay challenge and #SportsVsMe.
TikTok has also seen the rise of prominent sports content creators in Egypt that have a rising fan base on the regular.The platform allows content creators to connect, encourage and challenge one another. Some of these creators include @gameyfreestyle which was crowned best sports content creator in 2019, Zouba fanatic @Zouba_official, kickboxing coach @nohaalrayan amongst many others.
