After being postponed in 2020, it’s no surprise that the Tokyo Olympics have been a hot topic, up 36.9 million% year-on-year. Tennis sensation Emma Raducanu has also been among the trending topics, as db center.uk the 18-year-old became the first British woman in 44 years to win a Grand Slam tennis title. She received more than 16.6 million searches in September alone after her US Open win .
The royals have been in the news this year, but for the least cheery reasons: Prince Philip ’s sad passing and Harry and Meghan ’s explosive Oprah interview topped the search charts.
Interestingly, with the rise of Korean TV phenomenon Squid Game , many seem to have forgotten that we started the year obsessed with another series, Bridgeton . While it hasn't reached the heights of Squid Game's 101 million monthly searches, Bridgeton still deserves an honorable mention, and we expect to see renewed interest when season 2 finally releases (even if it doesn't feature Duke).
The killing of 13-year-old Latino Adam Toledo by a Chicago police officer caused major online search spikes of 40.9 million percent, with a spike in April that was the largest search volume increase of 2021.
Another trending story that prompted people around the world to turn to Google for more details was the murder of YouTuber Gabby Petito and the death of her boyfriend Brian Laundrie . The two names received more than 120 million searches between September and October. The murder of Sarah Everand by a former UK police officer reignited the global #MeToo movement, with protests and calls for women’s safety from around the world.
