The trending topics in July this year showed some similarities with what we were searching for on Google and talking about on Facebook this time last year. Like What’s Trending – July 2015, big news stories and events were popular, and tax time remained a firm favourite with Australians.

As the sausage sizzles drew to a close and the votes were counted one-by-one, the 2016 Australian federal election wrapped up with a serious lack of closure on 2 July. As curious Australians sought out Google to learn which party would form their new government, they were quickly disappointed when not even the most fervent Googling would produce a result on election night. While the election was the top search term for the month, enthusiasm peaked on 2 July and soon dropped off as Aussies became seemingly disinterested in being drip-fed news of who had won what seat.

The resurgence of Pokémon was like something straight out of 1997 when Pokémon GO hit the smartphone screens of Australians on 6 July. The augmented reality game uses a mobile device’s GPS function to allow players to locate and capture the original 151 Pokémon from the anime series. Most captivated by the game on Google were users in the Gold Coast, Hobart, the Central Coast and Newcastle. Facebook users also showed keen interest in the game. But not everyone was hip to the jam: one of the top related terms, set amongst the various searches from keen players, was ‘what is Pokémon.’

Turns out a lot of Australians are adept at switching off from one device only to find themselves in front of the TV to watch other people play sport – funny, isn’t it? The Wimbledon final on 10 July saw Andy Murray and Selena Williams take out the top spots, and Australians in Canberra, Perth and Adelaide wanted the results first, ‘live Wimbledon scores’, ‘Wimbledon results’ and ‘Wimbledon live’ were amongst the top related search queries.

Pokémon wasn’t the only nostalgic term trending in July: the animated film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic novel, The BFG, written in 1982, was released at the end of June and the Disney film proved a popular topic throughout July. Women of all ages discussed their opinions on the release on Facebook.

On 14 July 2016 – Bastille Day in France – a devastating terrorist attack occurred along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice when a person deliberately drove a 19 tonne cargo truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day. The shocking attack got the attention of the world, with searches peaking on Google on 15 July with terms like ‘France attack’ and ‘France Nice’ being amongst the top related search queries.

Australians on Facebook celebrated Christmas in July with chatter about the winter festivities, and feasting on traditional winter foods eaten in the Northern Hemisphere at Christmas time, like hearty roasts and warm drinks. The increasingly popular celebration was a great opportunity for venues to hold themed events.

As the end of financial year came to a close at the end of June, Australians got on board the tax train in July and rode it all the way to Moneyville. Queries relating to the Australian Taxation Office became very popular, with many Australians opting to do their tax online this year via myTax – as evidenced in the popular related search queries ‘ATO myGov’ and ‘myTax’. The keenest to get their return in were in the ACT, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

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