British consumers feeling excited about the Paralympics
The UK public have felt increasingly more proud, patriotic and happy about Britain hosting the Olympics as the 17 days of the Games progressed.
Their excitement towards the forthcoming Paralympics has also intensified during the Olympics, but positivity towards sponsors has fluctuated, according to the official research provider to London 2012, Nielsen.
Nielsen has been able to track how the mood of the country has developed over the last three weeks, by asking a series of questions – some of them repeated – over each day of the Games to a carefully recruited nationally-representative panel of 1060 smartphone users, aged between 18-54.
How does Britain hosting the Olympic Games make you feel?
Source: Nielsen
UK smartphone users, aged 18-54, Fri 27 July – Sun 12 Aug 2012
The overwhelming emotion (chosen from a selection) around Britain hosting the Games has been a sense of pride.
By the closing ceremony, 71% of respondents felt proud, up from 63% a week earlier, and up from just 54% on the day of the opening ceremony. Those feeling patriotic around Britain hosting the Games went up from 23% just before the opening ceremony, to 38% by the final day.
Happiness also increased over the fortnight (up 13% to 43%), while annoyance (from 6% to 3%) and indifference (from 20% to 11%) ebbed away.
Inspiration and Legacy
As the Olympics have developed, more UK people have felt inspired by Britain hosting the Games. By the closing ceremony, 35% of respondents felt inspired to increase their own levels of sport participation, up from 28% two weeks earlier.
Similarly, by the end of the Games this week, 24% felt inspired to encourage relatives or friends to participate in sport, up from just 15% during the opening weekend.
The number of people agreeing that the Games will leave a lasting legacy for the UK hit 81% by the final day, up from 74% during the first week – while those disagreeing fell from 8% to 5%.
Paralympics
Excitement, which built throughout the Olympics, appears to have transferred to the Paralympics. During the first week of the Games, only 46% of respondents were excited about the forthcoming Paralympics. By the Monday after the closing ceremony, this had risen to 62%.
Positivity towards sponsors
The positivity of Brits towards companies sponsoring the Olympics fluctuated throughout the Games, with variations seeming to correlate with the early controversy around empty seats and the later success of the British team.
Before the opening ceremony, 56% of respondents felt positive about sponsors, but by the fifth day of the Games – when the finger had been pointed (erroneously) at sponsors for swathes of empty seats, and Team GB had still not yet won a gold medal – this had fallen to only 51% feeling positive.
However, just seven days later (7 August), with the country stunned at the success of Team GB’s leap to third in the medals table, this had jumped to 63%. But by the closing ceremony, the measure had slipped back a little, with only 57% of respondents remaining positive towards sponsors.
Nielsen managing director for the UK & Ireland Chris Morley explains: “The success of London 2012 and particularly Team GB appears to have had a hugely positive effect on inspiring British consumers, particularly younger age groups. This inspiration has been fuelled by greater media consumption of the Games, thanks to easier access and increased involvement with the action through new and enhanced platforms – such as digital TV, live online video streaming and social media.”