Top moments on Twitter from 2014

Top moment/s

This year played host to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. The tournament was won by Germany who took the title for the fourth time. The level of hype was at an all time high and one of the most tweeted about moments is a direct testament to this. The most tweeted about moment in South Africa during the year was the semi-final between Germany and Brazil, which saw Germany defeat the host nation by 7-1. During this game fans around the world sent more than 35.6 million Tweets - a new Twitter record.

There were more than 672 million tweets during the World Cup. It was the highest number of Tweets to date related to an event, it's hard to compare the 32-day, 64-match World Cup to, for example, the single-game Super Bowl, the one-night Oscars, or the 16-day Olympics.

As rugby is considered one of the most popular sports in South Africa it should come as no surprise that the South Africa Vs Wales rugby match #SSRugby rugby game caused the second biggest spike on Twitter in South Africa in 2014. Earlier this year, South Africa took on Wales at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit. The game received a massive amount of attention and was also closely followed through a live, interactive feed on the Super Sport website.

Another event which was unfolded in real-time on Twitter this year, was the controversial, much spoken about Oscar Pistorius trial, with real-time updates coming out of the courtroom by journalists giving on-the-ground news minute- by-minute.

Most retweeted

Each year, we crown the most retweeted tweet of the year the "golden Tweet." Each year this tweet tells a different story about what message resonated with millions of Twitter users around the world.

This year, Ellen Degeneres' tweet from the Oscars became the most retweeted tweet of the year - and ever, topping the most retweeted tweets from 2013 (Lea Michele) and 2012 (Barack Obama). Ellen's Tweet has been retweeted more than 3 million times to date.

People also come to Twitter to get closer to their idols, retweeting, favouriting and replying to messages from the accounts they follow. To discover the most popular Tweets of 2014, we looked at those that had the most retweets at their peak from around the globe, some of these Tweets are listed below

Justin Bieber (@JustinBieber) took to Twitter to tell his fans that they were always worthy and that you should always believe and be strong, his fans shared this message which peaked at over 471,000 retweets:

YOU ARE ALL WORTHY NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAYS >> BE STRONG GOD IS WITH US ALL> MY BELIEBERS CHANGED MY LIFE> I WILL FOREVER BE GRATEFUL

- Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) January 24, 2014

Meanwhile, One Direction boyband star Niall Horan (@NiallOfficial) took to Twitter to thank his fans for the four years they have supported the band, a tweet from Niall attracted huge numbers of retweets from fans around the globe as they shared their special four year anniversary, a Tweet which peaked at 366,943 retweets:

Thank you lads ,we've had a great time so far, you are family to me now , not just band mates ! Love you pic.twitter.com/IdUHD3vFnf

- Niall Horan (@NiallOfficial) July 23, 2014

This year saw the death of actor Robin Williams (@RobinWilliams), The Academy (@TheAcademy) took to Twitter to quote a line from Aladdin and mourn the passing of Robin. This Tweet which will be remembered by all peaked at 327,432:

Genie, you're free. pic.twitter.com/WjA9QuuldD

- The Academy (@TheAcademy) August 12, 2014

Liam Payne's (@Real_Liam_Payne) picture of bandmate Niall Horan's eyes collage peaked at 330,770 retweets while his Tweet telling Niall how much he loves him peaked at 324,894:

Imagine niall looking at you with those eyes like your the only woman in the world I CAHNT BREAUTHEE #BeAFanDay pic.twitter.com/PSx0cPdI4L

- liam (@Real_Liam_Payne) August 4, 2014

Hi @NiallOfficial I made this for you I love you so much it hurts I even love your toes I'm coming to see you tonight pic.twitter.com/5ul6daFmLM

- liam (@Real_Liam_Payne) August 4, 2014

Most followed

Neymar Jr, the Brazilian footballer, was the VIT with the most follower growth in 2014, having gained more than 1.5 million followers. Neymar Jr. led Brazil with four goals through the quarter-finals, but in that quarter-final game against Columbia, he suffered an injury (broken bone in back) and was out for the rest of the World Cup.

Some of the most followed people in South Africa include: