Euro 2020 dominates Google’s Year in Search trends

Euro 2020, the Premier League and Danish footballer Christian Eriksen – who collapsed on the pitch during the Euros – have been revealed as the top trending Google searches of the year in the UK.

The tournament influenced a number of Google’s lists in its annual Year in Search results, with football anthems Sweet Caroline and Three Lions featuring in the trending song lyrics list.

As fans returned to football grounds when lockdown restrictions lifted, the Premier League became the second biggest trend of the year, Google said, ahead of Denmark star Eriksen, who is now recovering after suffering a cardiac arrest during his country’s Euros game with Finland.

The top trending searches of the year are those which had a high spike in traffic over a sustained period during the year, compared to 2020, Google said.

New British tennis star Raducanu, who made her debut at Wimbledon before becoming the first British woman to win a grand slam since 1977 at the US Open, was second on the trending athletes list and third on the trending people list.

According to Google’s data, the Covid-19 vaccine was the top trending news story of the year in the UK, ahead of Matt Hancock – who resigned as health secretary in June after admitting to breaking Covid restrictions – and Sarah Everard, who was murdered by Wayne Couzens, a serving Metropolitan Police officer, and sparked a national debate on violence against women.

The withdrawal of British and American troops from Afghanistan; the spike in the stock price of US retailer GameStop – driven by Reddit users; the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse and the death of YouTuber Gabby Petito were other stories on the trending news list.

Mr Hancock was also named the top trending political figure of the year, ahead of new US president Joe Biden, who entered office in January, and fellow US politician Bernie Sanders.

“It’s no surprise that 2021 has revealed some interesting insights into the zeitgeist of the nation,” Matt Cooke, head of Google News Lab, said.

“During a year of unpredictability, we have turned to sport, entertainment, gardening, recipes and UK-based travel to get us through some of the most frustrating and difficult times.

“We have seen searches for prominent women dominate the top of our lists, as well as huge rises in second-hand and sustainability queries over 2021.

“Year in Search always provides a fascinating insight into what the nation is thinking, learning and discovering – about themselves and others.”

In entertainment, Netflix’s Squid Game topped the TV list, ahead of Bridgerton and The Serpent, with Dune named the top trending film. Daniel Craig’s last outing as James Bond in No Time To Die was fourth.