2024 Yearender: Football, dollar prices and Gaza still lead Google Trends in Egypt

Zeinab El-Gundy , Wednesday 25 Dec 2024

From football to economic news to the Israeli war on Gaza and its repercussions, it is that time of year when Ahram Online looks back at what Egyptians searched the most on Google in 2024.

trends

 

Google's annual top trends report included the most searched terms that reflect local, regional, and international trends.

The report categorized the top trends into several sections, including general terms, top personalities, top songs, top sports queries, and top TV shows.

Ahram Online analyzes the most searched topics and people by Egyptians in Arabic on Google in 2024.

Egyptian Olympic football team in Paris 2024 Olympics


File Photo: Egypt's midfielder #17 Mohamed Elneny kicks the ball as Uzbekistan's midfielder #17 Diyor Kholmatov defends in the men's group C football match between Uzbekistan and Egypt during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the La Beaujoire Stadium in Nantes. AFP

 

The participation and results of the Egyptian Olympic football team in the Paris 2024 Olympics were the most searched term in 2024, specifically during the summer from 21 July to 17 August 2024.

Hopes were high when the Egyptian Olympic football team made history, reaching the semi-finals of the Paris 2024 Games for the first time in 60 years.

Despite a strong performance against France in the semi-finals, the Egyptian team could not maintain their momentum. They delivered a lacklustre performance against a determined Moroccan side that deservedly claimed the bronze medal, while Egypt placed fourth in the Olympic football game.

The Egyptian Olympic football team has participated in 12 previous Olympic tournaments.

Footballers also led the search for people on the Google search engine in 2024, above them Egypt international defender Mohamed Abdel-Monem, who currently plays in France’s Nice.

The 25-year-old former Al-Ahly defender joined Nice in late August on a four-year loan deal until 2028.

It was the year to shine in Egypt’s football arena for Palestinian-Danish striker Wessam Abou Ali, who was acquired by Al-Ahly FC in January to become one of its star strikers.

In July, Egyptian-Qatari defender Yousef Ayman officially joined Al-Ahly on a one-season loan deal from Qatari club Al-Duhail.

Many Egyptians searched for more information about the first Qatari player of Egyptian origin who joined the famous Egyptian football club.

Moroccan left-back Yahya Attiat Allah joined Al-Ahly on a one-year loan deal from Russian club PFC Sochi in August, making it to the top-searched names in 2024.

His country-fellow man Acharf Dari also joined Al-Ahly FC from French side Brest for the next four years as a defender joined him in the list.

Egyptian pound’s value against US dollar, Ras El-Hekma deal
 


File Photo: Ras El-Hekma. Al-Ahram

Devaluation or floating the value of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar was the second most searched Arabic term in Egypt in 2024.

In March, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) decided to allow market forces to determine the value of the Egyptian pound (EGP) while raising interest rates by six percent.

The step aims to unify the exchange rates and eliminate foreign exchange backlogs following the closure of the spread between the official and the parallel exchange rate markets, the bank said after a special meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stated in November that since Egypt adopted a flexible exchange rate in March, the dollar’s value has fluctuated by four to five percent, ranging from EGP 47 to EGP 49/$1. Based on the demand for the dollar, similar fluctuations are expected in the coming months.

In late February, Egyptians searched for more information about the Ras El-Hekma deal when Egypt and Emirati investors signed an historic agreement to build a multi-billion new state-of-the-art city of Ras El Hekma as a new massive urban, business, and tourism centre in the country's North Coast.

That made the famous North Coast city the third most searched term.

At the signing ceremony, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that the new project will pump $35 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) into the economy within two months – the largest such sum in FDI in the country’s history. 

The immediate FDI will help the country overcome its current hard currency crunch.

Madbouly said back then Egypt would receive $24 billion in two instalments out of the total amount in an initial investment of $35 billion in the Ras El-Hekma project. 

The prime minister explained that Egypt would receive $15 billion within a week and the remaining $20 billion within two months. Meanwhile, the UAE will waive its $11 billion foreign deposits in the CBE.

The step will reduce Egypt’s foreign debt, noted Madbouly, adding that Egypt will also obtain 35 percent of the project’s revenues.

 Monkeypox
 

Monkeypox or Mpox was back to the topmost searched terms on Google in Arabic in Egypt, landing fourth place when Africa CDC declared Mpox a public health emergency of continental security in mid-August.

The next day after the Africa CDC announcement, the World Health Organization (WHO) held a meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee to address the Mpox upsurge and declared the ongoing outbreak, caused by MPXV clade I variant, a public health emergency of international concern.

Since the WHO's announcement, Egypt has stepped up health precautionary measures at all airports, seaports, and land crossings.

To date, the Ministry of Health affirms that Egypt has successfully maintained a zero-case status for the monkeypox (Mpox) virus.

Israeli attack on Rafah
 


File Photo: The Rafah border crossing. AFP

The Israeli war on Gaza and its repercussions were among the top concerns of Egyptians so having several terms related to the different episodes of the ongoing genocidal war starting with “Attack on Rafah” in the fifth topmost searched term in Arabic on Google in 2024 is no surprise.

Here, Rafah represents three significant terms for Egyptians: the Palestinian city of Rafah hosting nearly more than one million and half displaced Palestinians, the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza that was the only connection between the strip and the world, and the Egyptian city of Rafah that hosts thousands of tons of humanitarian aid waiting to enter the Israeli occupied Gaza.

Egypt had facilitated the entry of international humanitarian aid to 2.3 million Palestinians since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza on 7 October, mainly through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the strip as well as Karm Abu Salem between Egypt, Gaza and Israel.

However, in early May, Israeli forces attacked and closed the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing after the invasion of Rafah city despite Egypt and international warnings, thus preventing hundreds of aid trucks from reaching a near-starving population.

The “#AllEyesonRafah” hashtag became a global trend to attract football stars and celebrities back then.

Following international pressure, Israel has allowed a tiny amount of food and medicine through the Karm Abu Salem crossing.

Cairo has repeatedly called on the international community to pressure Tel Aviv to retreat from the area and open Rafah and all crossings with Gaza for the entry of aid into the strip.

Egypt has frequently emphasized its insistence on a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Philadelphi corridor and the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which has been under Israeli control since May.

According to a Wall Street Journal report in August, Egypt has also rejected Israeli and American proposals to build Israeli watchtowers along the Philadelphi corridor.

In September, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in press conferences and claimed that the Philadelphi corridor was used to arm Hamas.

The Israeli PM showed images of tunnels allegedly built under the Philadelphi corridor, which he claimed were used to smuggle arms from Sinai to Gaza.

Egypt rejected similar statements made by Netanyahu repeatedly throughout the past months, accusing him of using Egypt’s name to deflect Israeli public attention and hinder ongoing ceasefire and captive-prisoner swap negotiations.

In sixth place comes “the attack on Jerusalem” in October when Iran, in retaliation, launched at least 180 missiles into Israel, and those missiles reached occupied East Jerusalem.

At that time, it was the latest in a series of escalating attacks in a yearslong conflict between Israel and Iran, after Israel attacked the Iranian embassy building in Damascus, killed members of the revolutionary guards, and later assassinated the head of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh during his visit to Teheran.

In tenth place came “The war on Lebanon,” marking the Israeli invasion of South Lebanon in October after months of ongoing fighting between the Israeli army and the Lebanese factions led by Hezbollah in what the Lebanese party called an act to support Gaza.

More than a year of cross-border fighting between Israel and Lebanon, it reached its peak in September when Israel unleashed an attack via exploding pagers across Lebanon, killing at least tens of people and injuring over 2800 including Hezbollah members, followed by an air strike on Beirut’s Southern Suburb that killed the leader of Hezbollah himself, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.

For two months, the war continued between till a ceasefire deal was reached between them via the US and Europe as mediators in late November.

Wael Dahdouh & Moataz Azaiza
 

Palestinian photojournalist Moataz Azaiza and veteran Al-Jazeera correspondent Wael Dahdouh made it to the list of the most searched people in Egypt on Google in 2024.

With 18.2 million followers on Instagram, Azaiza has spent the past 108 days covering Israel’s brutal war on Gaza. His coverage gained significant international recognition, and he became one of the few social media voices representing Gaza. He was evacuated from Gaza in January 2024 after receiving Israeli threats.

Veteran Al-Jazeera TV channel correspondent and its Gaza head bureau Wael Dahdouh’s 27-year-old son Hamza, who was also a journalist at Al Jazeera, tragically lost his life in an Israeli strike in January.

Moreover, Al-Dahdouh suffered the devastating loss of his wife, a 16-year-old son, a seven-year-old daughter, and a grandson, all killed by Israel in October 2023.

Al-Dahdouh was evacuated from Gaza in January 2024 to receive treatment in Qatar following his injury in an Israeli drone strike that killed the 45-year-old Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa in December 2023.

New Cairo serial killer

In May 2024, Egypt’s prosecution announced the arrest of 37-year-old Karim Salim on suspicion of killing three women in upscale New Cairo. Since then, he has been dubbed the New Cairo serial killer, whether in mainstream media or social media.

Thus, “The New Cairo Serial Killer” ranked seventh for Egypt's top trends in 2024.

For months, Egyptians closely followed the shocking and unusual case of a man who was once a high school English teacher and ran a TikTok channel for teaching English. He turned into a serial killer, murdering three women. Disturbingly, he engaged in sexual acts with his victims both before and after their deaths, recording videos of these acts.

In September, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Karim Salim to death for killing three women.

Currently, there is a retrial for Salim in front of the appeal court, and it is either the court will reject his appeal or uphold the death sentence. With the video evidence incriminating, many expect the court will uphold the death sentence.

US presidential elections
 


File Photo: US Presidential President Donald Trump. AP

 

The US presidential elections in November and the victorious return of Donald Trump as president again amid scandals, trials, and after a dramatic presidential race were more than enough to attract the attention of the Egyptians to follow the US presidential election race attentively.

“US Elections” ranked eighth in Google Trends in Arabic in 2024.

Thanaweya Amma appeals
 

 
File Photo: Egyptian high school students keep cool by studying in the Alexandria Library in Alexandria, Egypt. AFP

 

“Thanaweya Amma” is the most searched in Arabic in Google's top trends annually, especially in August.

Thanaweya Amma means the national High school following the Egyptian Ministry of Education. The Thanaweya Amma exams, which take place in the summer, determine students' university admissions and career paths.

This year, 2024, Thanaweya Amma's results’ appeals ranked ninth in Google Trends.

Ministry of Education and Technical Education announced the Thanaweya Amma results (final high school exam results) for the 2023/2024 academic year in August with an overall pass rate of 81.3 percent – the highest since 2020.

Actors most googled
 

For the most searched names, actors Jamila Awad, Sobhy Khalil, and Hussein Fahmy made it to the top trends in 2024.

The glamourous wedding of Egyptian actor Jamila Awad and renowned film editor Ahmed Hafez, with their guests from A-list celebrities, made Awad reach the Google top trends of the year.

Veteran supporting actor Sobhy Khalil, who appeared in more than 100 TV series and films since the 1980s, also made the list after the wedding of his daughter’s marriage from screenplay writer Ahmed Abdel-Wahab in April.

Veteran and popular Egyptian star and the President of Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) Hussein Fahmy also made it to Google Trends due to the death of his younger brother, veteran and popular Egyptian star Mostafa Fahmy, in late October shortly before the start of the CIFF’s 45 edition in November.

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