Twitter did not go into further details or share any numbers with how many requests they might have gotten, but we imagine it probably was a lot. The company initially suspended the verification program back in 2017, so we imagine that there are probably a ton of people who have been waiting to be verified since then, so there could be quite a huge backlog.
https://twitter.com/verified/status/1398359044054790153
The reason for the initial suspension was because the company wanted to work out some of the issues they had with the program. The relaunched verification program is being aimed at six categories of users, such as government officials, companies/brands/organizations, news organizations and journalists, entertainment, sports and gaming, activists, organizers, and other influential individuals.
Under the new verification program, users who believe that they fall into one or more of these categories could submit a request to be verified (but not guaranteed). They would need to prove who they say they are with official identification and also instances where they might have been mentioned in the press.