You might have noticed a strange hashtag at the trending charts on Twitter today, at least in the UK. "#EdBallsDay" is riding strong with tens of thousands of tweets expected today alone.

But what is Ed Balls Day and why are so many posting funny comments about it online?

Well, it is 11 years to the day since British politician and ex-shadow chancellor Ed Balls either accidentally or intentionally just tweeted his own name for everyone to see. It read, simply, "Ed Balls".

It became a bit of a viral hit back on 28 April 2011 and since then, the same day each year, thousands commemorate it in amusing fashion.

Memes, gifs, funny tweets galore, Ed Balls Day is celebrated online on 28 April every year. It is perhaps even more popular than Balls himself - although his appearances on Strictly Come Dancing in the UK and other entertainment TV shows put him more firmly in the public eye since.

The former Labour MP and chairman of Norwich City FC rarely marks the special occasion himself, but bucked the trend in 2020. Hopefully he'll do the same again this time. After all, #EdBallsDay is now celebrating more than a decade in the limelight.

We'll update with additional favourites from this year as the day progresses. Here are the highlights so far: