Twitter: #ThisHappened in 2016

What a year! From news and entertainment to sports and politics, around the world or around the block; it all happened on Twitter. Today, we’re reflecting back on the moments and memories that defined 2016!

Globally, 2016 was the year when CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey Tweeted in Arabic for the first time, making it his second ever most Retweeted Tweet.

Meanwhile in the UAE, 2016 witnessed an only-on-Twitter moment at the World Government Summit @WorldGovSummit, when @HHShkMohd announced the largest restructure of the cabinet in the history of the UAE through a series of Tweets — a testimonial to how Twitter has been embraced by government entities, amongst others, as the go-to platform to engage with the community.

https://twitter.com/hhshkmohd/status/697436287343714304

To mark the end of the year, we’ve delved into our data to create our annual roundup by launching #ThisHappened so people can share their biggest moments and memories of 2016. Below are some of the most influential moments from UAE and around the world:

Top Trends in UAE

We analyzed the top UAE events that created the biggest buzz on Twitter in 2016. Ramadan, whose Tweets were viewed more than 10.7 billion times globally was the top Arabic hashtag #رمضان in the UAE. In addition, updates from the UAE’s ruling family and government initiatives continued to drive Twitter traffic among local Twitter users, with related hashtags consistently among the most popular in the country.

Below are some of the top trending topics that generated the below hashtags in UAE:

Sports:

1. #euro2016

2. #rio2016

3. #halamadrid

4. دوري_الخليج_العربي# (UAE Arabian Gulf League)

5. العين_الجزيرة (Al Ain vs Al Jazeera)

Culture:

1. يوم_العلم# (Flag Day)

2. يوم_زايد_للعمل_الإنساني# (Zayed Day for Humanitarian Work)

3. عام_القراءة# (Year of Reading)

4. السعادة# (Happiness)