Political scandals, Taylor Swift, the death of master builder Richard Lugner and football were particularly tough for the Austrians this year. At least that is evident from the annual ranking of local Google searches.
The ‘European Championship’ reached the top spot among Austrian search terms in 2024 – with Spanish kicker Lamine Yamal receiving the most searches in the ‘international athlete’ category. Ski racer Matthias Mayer once again led the Austrian athletes.
The “European Handball Championship” also narrowly reached the bottom of the overall top 10, with “Sailing Olympia” at number 6. But the sport was not without controversy. The search term ‘Wolves Greetings’ in the ‘Headlines’ category (in 10th place there) probably goes back to the right-wing extremist gesture of a Turkish goalscorer in the European Championship round of 16.
Causa Schilling dominates political searches
In addition, political matters in particular motivated people to use the search engine. The case surrounding Lena Schilling, the Green Party’s best candidate in the EU elections, was particularly dominant. The environmentalist was the third most searched term overall in 2024 and Google Austrian of the Year (ahead of Matthias Mayer in second place).
Schilling also tops the Austrian politicians category, followed by FPÖ federal party leader Herbert Kickl in second place. The two are followed by SPÖ politician Georg Dornauer (3rd place), who was recently in the public eye due to an affair surrounding a hunting photo with René Benko, SPÖ leader Andreas Babler (4th place) and Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler of the Greens (5th place), which caused a government crisis with its “yes” to the EU renaturation law.
Speaking of which: “What is the Renaturation Act?” is number 5 among the most frequently asked “what questions”. The most frequently asked question to Google was “Wasp sting, what to do?” “What does disaster area mean?” reached sixth place. “Why so much rain?” took third place in a special category “Interesting Questions”.
Disappointed Swifties, celebrities and American election campaign
Taylor Swift, the second most searched term in 2024 and topping the ‘Celebrities International’ and ‘Singers/Bands’ lists, probably owes her ranking to more than just her popularity. In the summer, the superstar’s canceled concerts caused an uproar in this country due to suspected terrorism.
The American election campaign is also reflected in the celebrities with ‘Donald Trump’ (2nd place), ‘Joe Biden’ (3rd place) and ‘Kamala Harris’ (5th place). Among the musicians, the comebacks of Oasis (10th place) and Linkin Park (5th place) with a new lead singer were notable.
P. Diddy once again ranks eighth among celebrities, but this may be due more to abuse allegations than his rap music. At the top of the ‘front page’ were the suspected double murderer Roland Drexler (1st place) and Solingen in Germany (2nd place), where an attack was committed in August.
When it came to ‘farewell’, Austrians usually Googled the late builder and reality actor Richard Lugner, with ‘Who will inherit the Lugner fortune (8th place in which questions) also sparking interest. Former Chancellor Brigitte Bierlein came in 7th place at the farewell celebrations, with mainly international personalities represented here, such as Franz Beckenbauer (3rd place) and Alexei Navalny (5th place).
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
