Every day, around the world, we search. We search to find more information about our heroes, games movies, news events and everything that strikes our mind. It’s that time of year — when we look back at the last 12 months and reflect on the trends that defined the year in Google Search. From blockbuster performances in Sports, Cinema and Politics to personalities to Gadgets to Demonetization. So to celebrate the end of 2016, here’s a peek at some of the trending topics this year.
From Newsmakers to Heartbreakers
With the biggest sporting extravaganza, Olympics 2016, people in India showed their unprecedented support to the Indian contingent this year. The sprawling nation of 1.3 billion moved beyond Cricket, as Rio Olympics 2016 emerged as the top trending search query on Google in 2016.
The US Presidential elections have always been closely watched in India but this year the interest was extraordinary. US President Donald Trump emerged on top of the list of trending personalities in India followed by India’s women olympian PV Sindhu. Truth or hype but the term ‘Sonam Gupta Bewafa hai’ clearly trended the search charts this season on Google search with Sonam Gupta making a surprise entry at third position. With her historic performance at the Olympics Games 2016, Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar closely followed at number four. Bollywood actress Disha Patani who recently made her Bollywood debut in a biopic on Indian cricketing star M S Dhoni. Indian female wrestler and Olympic champion Sakshi Malik also featured among the Top 10 trending personalities on Google.
Even as Olympics topped the charts, the historic win for Donald Trump in US elections and Britain's withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit), caught people’s attention. While the 7th Pay commission brought cheers to many, the announcement on Demonetization and Surgical strike on terror groups featured among the top trended news events.
Fun, Excitement and Spectacular Performances
Bollywood Superstar Salman Khan with his blockbuster performance in 'Sultan' captured the peak position among top trending movies while Thalaiva Rajinikanth's blockbuster film 'Kabali' captured the second spot. With scintillating performances by two newcomers Rinku Rajguru and Akash Thosar, marathi blockbuster ‘Sairat’ also made its way among the Top Trending movies this year.
Among the Bollywood leads, power packed performance by Sushant Singh Rajput and Disha Patani not just won them accolades but the duo also emerged on the top trending charts of male and female bollywood stars.
On the global stage, we saw some common search interests as Olympics brought all the fans together from across the globe and the world kept a close eye on the developments at the global stage including US elections, Brexit, Zika Virus, and the game that took the world by storm - Pokemon Go.
To view India specific lists and other global trends in detail, head over to search trends in 2016. Aside from Indian data, the site showcases over 1,000 top-ten lists across pop culture, sports, music, politics, news, and more. It’s global, spanning over 75 countries.
See you in 2017 and, in the meantime… search on!