World Emoji Day: Date, History and Post Ideas
World Emoji Day falls on July 17 every year, and the next one is on a Saturday: July 17, 2027. Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia, started it in 2014, and the date comes from the calendar emoji. Below: the short history, why that date, and post ideas a brand can plan now and schedule ahead.
It’s a once-a-year excuse for a brand account to show some personality, and a good moment to check what the emoji you use actually mean. Our emoji meanings dictionary covers the common ones.
Table of Contents
- When is World Emoji Day in 2027?
- Who started World Emoji Day?
- Why July 17? The calendar emoji story
- What can brands post on World Emoji Day?
- How do you plan a July 17 post?
- Frequently Asked Questions
When is World Emoji Day in 2027?
World Emoji Day 2027 is on Saturday, July 17. The date never moves, so only the weekday changes: in 2026 it fell on a Friday, and in 2028 it falls on a Monday. By the organisers’ count, 2027 is the 14th annual World Emoji Day.
A Saturday date matters if your team doesn’t work weekends; the planning section below covers getting the post ready ahead of time.
Who started World Emoji Day?
Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia, created World Emoji Day in 2014. The first tweet about #WorldEmojiDay went out on July 11, 2014, and the first World Emoji Day was celebrated six days later, on July 17, 2014. Before the day existed, the organisers say, people would sometimes post the calendar emoji on July 17 anyway.
Emojipedia is still the day’s custodian and runs the official site, worldemojiday.com, which says Emojipedia and World Emoji Day are brought to you by Zedge. So everything this page takes from that site is the organisers’ own account.
Checked against World Emoji Day, FAQ and World Emoji Day, home page.
Each July 17, Emojipedia also announces its World Emoji Awards. For 2026, its usage data named distorted face the most popular new emoji, and a vote among its followers also named it the emoji that best represents 2026. A public vote on the upcoming Emoji 18.0 designs picked cracking face as the most anticipated (checked 3 October 2026).
| Emoji | Name | Code point(s) | Emoji version (year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| | distorted face | U+1FAEA | Emoji 17.0 2025 |
| | cracking face | U+1FAEB | Emoji 18.0 2026 |
Characters, names, code points and versions from Unicode's emoji-test.txt (Emoji 18.0) and the Emoji Versions table in Unicode Technical Standard #51, checked . The year is when Unicode first defined the emoji, not when phones added it: vendors roll new emoji out later, at different times. Emoji show in your device's own font, so they look different on other phones and computers.
Why July 17? The calendar emoji story
The organisers chose July 17 because it’s the date shown on the calendar emoji. They say the calendar emoji shows that date because iCal for Mac was first announced at Macworld Expo in 2002, and Apple’s own press release introducing iCal is dated July 17, 2002 (checked 3 October 2026).
There’s a caveat. Unicode’s name for the character is simply “calendar”, and nothing in the standard fixes a date on it. Unicode’s emoji standard says an emoji’s shape can vary significantly between designs, so whether your calendar emoji shows July 17 depends on who drew your device’s emoji (checked 3 October 2026).
What can brands post on World Emoji Day?
The organisers say companies use the day to launch emoji-related promotions and host emoji events, and they invite everyone to post with #WorldEmojiDay on X, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky, Threads or Facebook. A brand account doesn’t need a campaign: one playful post will do. These ideas are ours:
- Emoji-only riddle. Describe a product, menu item or service in three or four emoji and ask followers to guess it, then reply to the first right answer with a shout-out.
- A question answered in emoji. Ask something real, such as weekend plans (the 2027 date is a Saturday), and invite answers in emoji only.
- Team picks. Each person on the team picks the emoji that sums up their job, with one line on why.
- The misread emoji. Explain an emoji that people read in different ways, using sourced meanings rather than guesses.
- The classics. Post your team’s favourites next to the most used emojis in Unicode’s data and see how they compare.
Look up any emoji you’re unsure about before you post, since some carry readings beyond the obvious one. Whatever you post, check that the emoji fit your brand’s voice first: our social media emoji guide for brands helps, and these 35 post ideas for business owners cover the rest of the calendar.
How do you plan a July 17 post?
Put July 17 in your content calendar now, write the post during the week before, and schedule it, because in 2027 the day lands on a Saturday. Set the time in your main audience’s time zone: July 17 starts in Asia and the Pacific many hours before it reaches the Americas.
If the post leans on one of the newest emoji, such as an Emoji 18.0 addition, make sure the words carry the message on their own. Phone and computer makers add new emoji on their own schedules, so some followers may not see it.
Our free content calendar template plans a month in your browser, then exports a CSV for Google Sheets or Excel and a calendar file, or saves the month as a PDF. If Instagram is one of your networks:
Plan your World Emoji Day post in Outfeed AI
Frequently Asked Questions
When is World Emoji Day?
July 17, every year. The next one is Saturday, July 17, 2027, which the organisers count as the 14th annual World Emoji Day. The 2026 edition fell on a Friday.
Why is World Emoji Day on July 17?
Because July 17 is the date shown on the calendar emoji, according to the organisers. They say the calendar emoji shows that date because iCal for Mac was first announced at Macworld Expo on July 17, 2002. Unicode’s own name for the character is just calendar, and its design varies from device to device.
Who created World Emoji Day?
Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia, created it in 2014. The first #WorldEmojiDay tweet went out on July 11, 2014, and the first World Emoji Day was celebrated on July 17, 2014. Emojipedia is the day’s custodian, and its site says Emojipedia and World Emoji Day are brought to you by Zedge.
How do brands celebrate World Emoji Day?
The organisers say companies use the day to launch emoji-related promotions and host emoji events. For a brand account, a simple version is one playful post with the hashtag #WorldEmojiDay, such as an emoji-only riddle about a product or a question followers answer in emoji.