With 2022 fast approaching, Google has released their annual ‘Year In Search‘ trends video, which personally I always find quite emotional to look back on, especially the last couple of years.
(Then again, I am also the sort of person that cries at New Year so, maybe it’s just a me thing!)

So, what exactly have we been searching for in the UK in 2021? Let’s take a closer look…

General Topics

In at number one is, for all us sports lovers, the top trend of the year – the Euros. Alas, it wasn’t to be for England this time (when will it be our year?!) but the ride was pretty incredible. Euro fever gripped the nation and Europe, with many memorable moments along the way; some for the wrong reasons, however.

Sticking with the sports theme, in second place is the Premier League. Without a doubt, the most competitive league in the world, the lack of fans in stadiums due to Covid restrictions really had an impact on results and games. Home advantage was no more and most matches had an air of training games about them, but we embraced it and enjoyed watching the football almost daily which felt like a real festival of football. The artifical stadium noise was a bit odd though!

Third place goes to Christian Eriksen. On the 12th of June, Eriksen’s Denmark were playing Finland in a group stage game of the Euros. Eriksen collapsed on the pitch and it was clear for all to see, he was seriously unwell. I remember this moment clearly, the terrifying feeling of dread as we all knew that this was a life or death moment. Christian Eriksen had suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch. Thankfully Erikson recovered well in hospital after receiving speedy medical attention on the ground, however, it is unlikely that Christian will play professional football again.

Our old friend Covid was back in at number four – the Covid vaccine was the fourth hottest trend in the UK in 2021. Booking jabs, side effects, boosters, the different manufacturers – there were a lot of searches related to Covid vaccines this year.

Finally, at number five, the sad death of Prince Philip was the fifth top trend in search in the UK in 2021. Prince Philip died at the age of 99 at Windsor Castle on Friday 9th April. The longest-serving royal concert in British history, Prince Philip will be long remembered for his Duke of Edinburgh programme which inspired the lives of countless young people according to Boris Johnson, as well as his support and service to his country and his Queen.

Next, we will review the questions, events and other trending events in 2021…

Rachel Noding
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