A year in search
What the UK searched for on Google in 2019
THE Rugby World Cup was the most searched for phrase in the UK in 2019, according to Google. England reached the final of the tournament - which took place in Japan between September and November - before losing out to South Africa. The Cricket World Cup was the second-most searched for phrase in the UK in what was a bumper year for high-profile sporting events. Game of Thrones was the third most searched for phrase, with the eight-year long fantasy series reaching its finale earlier this year. The historical drama television series Chernobyl was the fourth most searched for phrase. The remaining top 10 UK searches were for Thanos, Notre Dame, Avengers Endgame, iPhone 11, Caitlyn Jenner, and Joker. Google also grouped its search trends by category. Caitlyn Jenner, YouTuber personality James Charles and Prince Andrew were the most searched for celebrities. R Kelly, Nadine Coyle and 21 Savage led the musicians’ list. When it came to TV, Game of Thrones and Chernobyl came in first and second place, with Love Island in third. The popularity of Love Island could be seen in other ways, too. Tommy Fury, one of the Love Island finalists, placed fourth in the top-trending celebrities. “What is a dead ting” featured in this year’s top ‘What is’ questions, after winner Amber Gill used the phrase to describe a fellow contestant. Other queries which had the UK turning to Google include “How to pronounce Psalm” after Kim Kardashian and Kanye West revealed it was the name of their fourth child. “What is Area 51” took the top spot in the “What is..?” list, after more than two million people responded to a joke proposal to storm the United States Air Force facility amid recent conspiracy theories. Globally, India vs South Africa referring to the cricket match that took place in October - was the most searched phrase, followed by Cameron Boyce, the young American actor who died in July. Avengers Endgame was the most searched movie, followed by Joker. The song Old Town Road by the America rapper Lil Nas X was the most searched song, followed by 7 Rings by Ariana Grande.