About World Emoji Day
World Emoji Day is the global celebration of emoji, the tiny pictograms that have transformed how we communicate online. It was created in 2014 by Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia, as a fun way to mark the little symbols that fill our messages, posts and chats. From a single tweet it has grown into a worldwide event embraced by tech giants, brands and millions of users who share their favourite emoji each year.
The day is marked online more than anywhere else: companies like Apple, Google and Samsung often preview the new emoji coming to phones, Emojipedia hosts the World Emoji Awards for the most anticipated and most popular emoji, and brands run playful campaigns. It has become a moment for the Unicode Consortium and platform makers to spotlight how emoji keep evolving to be more inclusive and expressive, reflecting the way the world actually talks.
World Emoji Day is always held on July 17 — a date chosen because that is the day shown on the calendar emoji 📅 on Apple devices, itself a nod to the launch of Apple's iCal app on July 17, 2002. Whether you want to catch the new emoji reveals or just love a 😀, add World Emoji Day to your own page and the counter above will show exactly how many days remain.
Upcoming dates
| 2026 | Friday, July 17, 2026next |
| 2027 | Saturday, July 17, 2027 |
| 2028 | Monday, July 17, 2028 |
| 2029 | Tuesday, July 17, 2029 |
| 2030 | Wednesday, July 17, 2030 |
FAQ
When is World Emoji Day?
World Emoji Day is held every year on July 17. The countdown above shows the days, hours and minutes until the next one.
Why is World Emoji Day on July 17?
Founder Jeremy Burge chose July 17 because that is the date displayed on the calendar emoji 📅 on Apple devices — a nod to the day Apple launched its iCal calendar app, July 17, 2002.
Who created World Emoji Day?
It was created in 2014 by Jeremy Burge, the British-Australian founder of Emojipedia, the online emoji reference site.
How is World Emoji Day celebrated?
Mostly online — tech companies preview upcoming emoji, Emojipedia hosts the World Emoji Awards, and brands and users run playful emoji-themed campaigns and posts.