150 million tweets about London Olympics: Twitter

The London Olympics led to 150 million tweets -- more than the US elections and Super Bowl combined, Twitter said Tuesday.

The Spice Girls' performance in the closing ceremony generated the biggest spike of the Games, while Usain Bolt's victory in the 200m made him the most-discussed athlete.

London Mayor Boris Johnson dancing to the Spice Girls at the closing ceremony with Prime Minister David Cameron was the most talked-about Twitter event in a single moment by British tweeters.

"The big moments that set the heart racing tend to be played out on Twitter," said Bruce Daisley of Twitter UK.

"It's some great British moments -- Boris dancing was a defining moment for people watching (the Olympics) and got the pulse racing on Twitter."

The Euro 2012 football tournament and The X Factor joined the Olympics as the most talked-about Twitter events by Britain's 10 million users, measured by the most tweets by Britons on a subject in a single second.

Over 31 million tweets were sent about the US election on election day ahead of President Barack Obama's victory, while there were 13.7 tweets during this year's New York Giants-New England Patriots Super Bowl, won by the Giants.

The Spice Girls perform during the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games on August 12, 2012. The London Olympics led to 150 million tweets -- more than the US elections and Super Bowl combined, Twitter said Tuesday.

Overall Medal Count

Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 United States 46 29 29 104
2 China 38 27 23 88
3 Great Britain 29 17 19 65
4 Russia 24 26 32 82
5 South Korea 13 8 7 28
6 Germany 11 19 14 44
7 France 11 11 12 34
15 New Zealand 6 2 5 13

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