Social Media Posts Will Illuminate the Eiffel Tower During Euro 2016

Telegraph

Lighting up landmarks with team colours has become something of a sporting tradition. After every Super Bowl, the Empire State and a number of other buildings are lit with the colours of the winning team, and a similar tradition is undertaken during the World Cup. The Eiffel Tower is often used in this way, but the plan for the Euros has put a whole new spin on it.

In a move they might end up regretting, France have turned control of the historic building over to the social media crowd. Through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts, fans will be able to determine the colour of the tower by crowing about their team of choice. Mobile data carrier Orange will then trawl through all the posts to figure out which team has the most vocal fan-base.

The result will take effect after the end of each day's final match. It's an interesting approach, as it may well not be the team that's done the best who receives this honour, but the one that's generated the most buzz. That could mean that if, say, Portugal (sorry guys, not wishing for it) lose in a massive upset, their colours could be forlornly draped across the La Femme de Fer, rather than the team who actually beat them.

To keep things from getting fogged up, Orange are unleashing a task force of mods to make sure that no trolls manage to sneak into the party. A number of keywords have been blacklisted, so any tweets or posts containing them will not count towards the final tally. The actual valid entries will all be handpicked as well, so clearly Orange are either taking this really seriously or just hate their own staff.

The first match of the Euros kicks off on the 10th of June, and the final is on the 10th of July, so there's plenty of scope for a whole array of different colours to coat the tower in that time. Twitter will probably be the most reliable resource, as there is a far more significant uptick in tweets during sporting events than any other kind of social media post. I kind of wish Scotland have made it in, just for the chance to have the tower illuminated in their alternate colour - bright pink.

Callum Davies

Callum is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop. Follow him @Songbird_Callum

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