During Tokyo 2020 Olympics, it seems that TikTok has become the unofficial Olympic channel through which all athletes share with the public i background of the event most important sportsman of the year. Let’s find out all the details together.
TikTok, the behind the scenes of Tokyo 2020
Swimmer Adam Peaty shows off his gold medal on TikTok
At first, the video appears to show just a regular guy in a tracksuit mime a rap song on his phone. A few seconds later, however, the British swimmer Adam Peaty takes out his Olympic gold medal and the crowd, in the comments section, goes wild.
“We live in a time where Olympic athletes casually make TikToks after winning a gold medal,” someone writes in a comment. The young athlete, after winning gold in the men’s 100m breaststroke, shared his victory on the famous social network.
TikTok welcomes #OlympicTok – the channel where Gen Z athletes are using their favorite social media app for share their gaming experience. Broadcasters own the rights to all the sports action but TikTok is delivering a completely different visual experience.
Dai village tour of athletes to vlogs “A Day in the Life Of”, these bits of athletes’ life exploded on the app, attracting tens of millions of viewsthe. It is not the first time that social media has been present at the Olympic Games. Athletes are also using the old platforms – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – to express themselves and show interesting fans behind the scenes. TikTok, however, offers a lot more.
What does the backstage of the Olympics look like on TikTok?
A clip shows nine Israeli baseball players jumping up and down on the same bed to test its cardboard structure. Another shows i Australian teammates who put up a sign on their balcony to flirt with the American athletes standing in front of them.
There are videos of basketball players who learn to tie for the opening ceremony, sprinters trying Japanese snacks, fencers who make fun of their mistakes. Thanks to social media, the public is seeing a lighter side of the Olympics.
As a TikTok user wrote under a video: “The Olympians look like normal people this year. This sense of fun is central to TikTok’s identity. ”.
This is precisely what sets TikTok apart from other apps like Instagram, which users associate with a beautiful content e refined. Everything that is too refined, in fact, not good on TikTok. Its users prefer videos that are funny, irreverent and above all “authentic“.
So, bring this lens to an event like the Olympics – the biggest and brightest stage in the world – it’s almost irresistible.
The Olympic stars on TikTok
- Sam Fricker, 19, Australian diver: 1.1 million followers.
- Ilona Maher, 24, US Rugby Sevens: 725.000 seguaci.
- Tyler Downs, 18, US diver: 913,000 followers.
- Margie Didal, 22, Filipino skateboarder: 1.5 million followers.