Roya Zeitoune oversees YouTube’s Culture and Trends team for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Her team delves deep into YouTube data to uncover emerging cultural trends and shifting viewer preferences.
The biggest moments in sports and culture no longer just happen on a football pitch or on a stage. They unfold, minute-by-minute, in a global digital stadium where fans don't just watch — they participate, analyse, engage, and celebrate together.
For marketers, this shift presents a huge opportunity to move beyond placing ads to becoming part of the cultural conversation.
The year 2026 is shaping up to be a landmark year for these conversations, packed with global events that will capture the world's attention. For example, the highly anticipated men’s World Cup is coming up and will be hosted across North America in the summer, along with the Winter Olympics in Italy in February.
Here are some of the big ones to mark on your calendar:
This calendar is a great starting point for your 2026 planning.
But the ‘where’ is just as crucial as the ‘when’. For years, these defining cultural moments have found their global stage on YouTube. As the moments themselves have grown, so has the conversation and community around them on our platform.
Why fans turn to YouTube for culture
Let me share one of my favourite stats here:
YouTube is the #1 platform viewers across the globe say they would miss the most if it were no longer available, outperforming all competitors, according to a survey conducted by Kantar.1 The survey was conducted across more than 20 countries and included more than 43,000 respondents.
For viewers, it’s not just about the livestream and the event highlights. YouTube has everything for fans who want to go deep, including build-up videos, analysis, memorable moments, parodies, celebrations, and long-form interviews. And that’s true for events ranging from the World Cup to Coachella to Cannes.
On YouTube, creators are influential in shaping the narratives of these events. For example, Amelia Dimoldenberg, a UK-based creator with more than 3 million subscribers, teamed up with Formula 1 in a series where racing drivers teach her to drive. It’s generating conversation and reaction among fanbases, which in turn drives more awareness and interest in Formula 1 events.
YouTube: The global stadium for sports
We all know this year is set to be massive for sporting events, between the men’s World Cup and the Winter Olympics. So it’s worth noting that YouTube plays a vital role in connecting viewers to sports: every day viewers watch over 100 million hours of sports videos.2 And looking back solely at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, YouTube viewers watched more than 650 million hours of Olympics content during the event.
My colleague Leonie Howlin works with brands on YouTube. She told me that this viewership is fuelled by the variety and immediacy of content, ranging from official highlights or watchalongs with creators, to behind-the-scenes access.
“Last year we saw creators like Ian Boggs and Sydney Morgan post amazing sponsored videos, bringing the Olympics to life for everyone watching around the world,” she said. “You really got a sense of the atmosphere across the city.”
“This year’s calendar will offer brands an incredible opportunity to meet fans at the pinnacle of these events. After all, live sport is all about the shared experiences of being in the moment with millions of others.”
I’m so excited about what 2026 will offer us. It feels like it will be a year where culture, competition, and community intersect more than ever — on a stage where brands connect with fans at the moment the world is watching.
Now is the time to start exploring how your brand can partner with relevant creators and leverage the full range of YouTube ad solutions to capitalise on this powerful cultural convergence.
