The viral moments from 2024 demonstrated the “power of social media” from rescuing a bee to reuniting with old friends and raising money for important fundraisers.
From a wine-tasting runner to a man dressed as an air conditioning unit for Halloween, here is a look at some of the PA news agency’s top picks from across the year.
– Woman reunited with Irishmen five years after taking viral photo in Times Square
Christina Boniello, from New Jersey in the US, went viral after taking a photo of three Irishmen in New York City in 2019 and reuniting with them five years later.
Ms Boniello took a photo of the three men, who did not have phones, in May 2019 and offered to send them a copy of the image, but said the men replied, “we’ll find it someday”.
Almost five years later on April 6, the group were reunited in the same spot in New York where they recreated the image, earning thousands of social media interactions, and went for lunch.
Christina Boniello pictured with the three Irishmen in Times Square in 2024 (right) and the image she took of the Irishmen in the same location in 2019 (left) (Christina Boniello/PA)
“It was weird seeing them in person but within a few minutes of who’s who… it was one of the most joyful days I can remember,” she told PA.
– London Marathon runner ‘honoured’ after wine challenge goes viral
Tom Gilbey, wine connoisseur, gained attention online when he challenged himself to blind taste test a different glass of wine after completing each mile of the London Marathon.
Mr Gilbey stopped 25 times during the race to sample the wine guessing the grape variety and country of origin which prompted donations on his fundraiser of over £13,000 for palliative care centre Sobell House.
Tom Gilbey, 52, a wine connoisseur who blind tasted a different glass of wine after completing each mile of the London Marathon, said he was ‘honoured’ his challenge went viral on social media, prompting an influx of donations (Tom Gilbey/PA)
The video went viral on TikTok and currently has 4.6 million views, it has been liked on Instagram more than 108,000 times.
“It’s my first experience of this going absolutely mad and I feel very honoured,” he told PA.
– Boy, six, called ‘superstar’ by comic book writer who inspired his viral series
Red Smith, from Brighton, created a comic book featuring a character called Danger Sausage which was trending on X after his neighbour bought his series for £1 and posted images of the comic online, earning 1.4 million views on the social media platform.
The viral post caught the attention of comic book artist Jamie Smart who writes series for weekly children’s comic, The Phoenix.
Young boy Red Smith went viral for writing a comic book about a character named Danger Sausage, which caught the attention of comic writer Jamie Smart (Amelia Smith/PA)
Mr Smart told PA: “I think it’s brilliant. One of the trickiest things in comics, especially to children’s humour, is the pacing and the timing.
“He absolutely knows how to make comics, how to tell stories and how to be funny with these characters. I think this is a comic-making superstar of the future.”
– Girl goes viral after making motivational posters for bee to help it recover
A young girl from a village in Midlothian, Scotland went viral in June after rescuing and nursing a bee back to health using honey and self-made motivational posters, as of December it has 1.3 million views on X.
Willow McMurray found the bee lying on a piece of wood “on its back” at her family’s allotment in Auchendinny, a small village in Glencorse near Penicuik and as the bee looked “very weak”, Willow acted quickly to try to give it the best chance of survival.
Willow McMurray went viral for rescuing and nursing a bee back to health using honey and self-made motivational posters (Anouska Curzon/PA)
In order to give the bee the strength to fight for its life, Willow also made it some motivational posters, with the words “You can do this” and “Keep going” on them, alongside images of bees.
“I just felt I should try and make this bee something to keep it energised,” Willow told PA.
– Viral breakdancer Raygun speaks out on ‘devastating hate’ after Olympics
An Australian breakdancer who went viral for her performance at the Olympics in Paris has described the “hate” that has followed as “devastating”.
Rachael Gunn, also known as Raygun, drew mockery and criticism on social media after her performance in the round robin stage of the B-girls breaking event, losing all three of her bouts.
Australian breakdancer Raygun, who went viral for her performance at the Olympics in Paris, described the “hate” that followed as “devastating” (John Walton/PA)
However, she shared an emotional video statement, shared on Instagram and currently has more than 4.7 million views – in which she said she took the competition “seriously” and “gave my all”.
She said: “Well, I went out there and I had fun. I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics, and I gave my all.”
– Actor dresses up as Co-op Live arena fallen air conditioning unit for Halloween
Manchester actor Dan Ellis went viral in October after dressing up as the air conditioning system that fell from the ceiling of the Co-op Live arena for Halloween.
He came up with his costume idea in May when the troubled new £365 million venue in the city had to cancel a series of opening performances after part of its ventilation and air conditioning system fell to the ground during a soundcheck.
The actor and director, who spent a week creating his unique costume using a cardboard box, paper plates, posters, fabric and a hot glue gun, told PA: “I thought about doing these kinds of things if it gives people a little giggle, I’m happy for the day, I like making people laugh.”
Dan Ellis dressed up as the air conditioning system that fell from the ceiling of the Co-op Live arena for Halloween (Dan Ellis/PA)
Mr Ellis shared photos of himself wearing the costume which sported a grey box and a hat adorned with the words “Co-op Live”, which he believes made him over two metres tall, and the post on X has since earned nearly 630,000 views.