As the 2016 Olympics rolled in Rio, a large portion of the search trends in the last Iranian month (started July 22) also centered on Olympics.
Iranians also showed an interest in cultural, artistic and religious events this month.
The following is a detailed list of what Iranians have searched for in the past 30 days.
Olympic Outfits
In first place stood the term “Olympic outfits” written in Persian, with Isfahan’s residents ahead of those from Ahvaz searching for the term.
The initial outfit designed for Iranian participants was unveiled on July 23, which faced severe public criticism over its poor design, bland colors and the overall tastelessness of the outfits.
Iranians took to social media to express their dissatisfaction and protests were so widespread that the officials eventually agreed to a redesign.
Eventually, the final design was presented to the public by Iran’s National Olympics Committee on July 28.
The search for the Olympic outfits showed a rising trend on July 21 and reached its peak on July 28.
Behdad Salimi
The second breakout term that rose over 4,000% in searches in the past 30 days was the name of Iranian weightlifter Behdad Salimi written in Persian.
The 26-year-old weightlifter, who was a gold winner at the 2012 London Olympics, lifted 216 kilograms in snatch on August 16 and set a new world and Olympics record.
However, he was not ranked in the final standings, as the jury did not accept any of his attempts in the clean and jerk, which has become the most controversial decision of Rio.
Salimi’s lift was approved by three referees but rejected by the jury, which according to International Weightlifting Federation President Tamas Ajan would be recorded in the history of the games as “an unprecedented example of jury misjudgment”.
Inquiries in this regard were broad in the country, with Tabriz and Isfahan ranking first and second respectively.
Hafez Award
The third most widely searched phrase in the last 30 days was Hafez Award in Persian.
After the death of the globally renowned filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, Ali Moallem, film producer and editor-in-chief of Picture World Magazine, announced that a special prize would be added to the 16th Picture World Cinema and TV Ceremony.
The award was given in honor of the late film director to young innovative filmmakers.
The event was held at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on July 23, in the presence of a large number of cineastes, artists and cultural figures where the movie “Life+1Day” and the series “Shahrzad” were announced as top winners.
As the first private cinematic celebration in the country, the annual event presented the best of Iran cinema and national TV during the past year with the Hafez Award.
The leading region to search this term was Alborz Province.
Rio Olympics
The next two most sought terms online was Rio Olympics, first written in Persian and then in English.
The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the games of the XXXI Olympiad and commonly known as Rio 2016, is a major international multi-sport event held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from August 5 to August 21.
More than 11,000 athletes from 207 National Olympic Committees are taking part. With 306 sets of medals, the games features 28 Olympic sports.
The lead-up to these games was marked by controversies, including the instability of the Brazilian government; health and safety concerns surrounding the Zika virus and significant pollution in Guanabara Bay; and a doping scandal involving Russia, which has affected the participation of its athletes in the games.
Iran has become obsessed with the event from July 27 and the searches for the terms both in Persian and English are still rising.
Mazandaran Province in northern Iran was one of the provinces with the most sports lovers, according to the results.
Hafez Nazeri
The country’s love for music again became evident this month, as users increasingly searched for Hafez Nazeri, a young Iranian musician.
The son of Shahram Nazeri, a contemporary Iranian tenor from Kermanshah who sings classical music, Hafez will stage his concerts named “Untold” on August 27 and 28 at Afifabad Garden in Shiraz followed by performances on September 2 and 3 at the Ministry of Interior’s hall in central Tehran.
After years of no public performances, the father and son held concerts in Tehran last month.
Hafez’s debut album “Rumi Symphony Project: Untold” was first released in the US in 2014 and features 38 Grammy Award-winning musicians. The album took over four years and more than 5,000 studio hours in five countries to complete.
The album hit number one twice on Billboard’s Classical chart, a first for an Iranian musician.
He performed a piece on July 28 on a popular Iranian TV show, Khandevaneh, which led to an abrupt rise in nationwide interest in the artist.
Daughter’s Day
The next search term was Rooz-e Dokhtar in Persian, which means “Daughters Day.”
Daughters Day is celebrated in Iran on the birth anniversary of Hazrat Massuomeh (PBUH), the daughter of Imam Musa ibn Jafar al-Kazim (PBUH).
This year, the event coincided with August 4. The western province of Ilam led the search inquiries for this term, with Kerman following closely.
