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Post Olympic spirits high but may fizzle out - survey
The Olympic Games have had a positive effect on the UK, according to a survey for the BBC, but there are doubts how long the feel-good factor will last.
Some 83% said the Games had a positive effect on the UK and 80% thought it had made people more proud to be British.
However while 35% thought the effect of the Games would be long-term, 54% thought it would be short-lived.
Of the 1,002 people asked by GfK NOP, 80% said they had been interested in the Games over the past two weeks.
Meanwhile, 64% said the Olympics had provided good value for money and 56% said they had had a positive effect on them personally.
The Games delivered the biggest national television event since current measuring systems began, with 51.9 million people - 90% of the UK population - watching at least 15 minutes of coverage.
It was the BBC's most successful online event, attracting a record-breaking 55 million global browsers to the BBC Sport website throughout the Games.
Games chairman Seb Coe has acknowledged the role played by the crowds who gave huge support to the athletes, resulting in GB finishing third in the medals table.
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In a separate survey conducted for the BBC in July, most people said they thought the Olympic Games would mainly benefit London and not the rest of the country.
The poll of 2,017 people found 59% thought taxpayers had paid too much to cover the cost of the Games, while at the same time 53% thought it was not wasted money.
When a similar survey was conducted for the BBC in April, 64% of those who took part thought the cost was too high.
The Olympics, which began on 27 July, were brought to a close by a ceremony on Sunday 12 August watched by 26.3 million people in the UK.
Selected poll questions |
|
|---|---|
| What effect, if any, do you think the Olympic Games have had on the UK as a whole? | |
|
Source: GfK/BBC News, 1,002 people aged over 16 interviewed between 10-12 August 2012 |
|
|
Positive |
83% |
|
Negative |
7% |
|
No effect at all |
10% |
Do you think that the Olympic Games has made people more proud to be British, less proud to be British, or made nodifference? |
|
|
More proud |
80% |
|
Less proud |
5% |
|
No difference |
15% |
Thinking about the effect the Olympic Games will have on the UK overall, do you think that any effect on the UKwill be long term, any effects will be short-lived, or will there be no effect at all? |
|
|
Long term |
36% |
|
Short term |
54% |
|
No effect |
10% |
|
Don't know |
1% |
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Fast Track
Comment number 341.
jaydrawmer14th August 2012 - 17:17
The games were incredible, as was the coverage. But of course the effects will be relatively short-lived.
Massive news stories that effect the world are similarly short lived when the media gradually die off their coverage. It doesn't mean the games will ever be forgotten.
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Comment number 322.
grizzler14th August 2012 - 15:50
This will all fizzle out when people realise that all the problems that existed before the Olympics still exist now. Wonder what the government will hide behind when they release any bad news about the economy, job losses and terrorist funding (£5m to syria) now
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Comment number 315.
stashadmin14th August 2012 - 15:18
I hit a dark depression on Sunday night, particularly during Jessie J's performance at the closing ceremony, and am struggling to recover from it. I didn't want the Games to end, they were amazing. I hate London again, it's back to being a horrible city to get around and everyone's dour and unfriendly.
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Comment number 305.
gooseflight14th August 2012 - 14:33
Ticketing aside the games were great and hugely enjoyable.
Will the feel-good factor last and translate into a less obese nation? No. It's like Christmas and New Year. Most gym memberships lapse by the end of January.
That said, if we identify and hang on to an expanded pool of elite talent owing to the Olympics then job done.
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Comment number 293.
Joe Pertinent14th August 2012 - 13:59
The question, 'Have the Games made people feel more proud to be British?' begs another one: 'Why do people need a three hour ceremony and two weeks of athletics to feel proud of their country?' Can't they base their opinion on 2,700 years of history or more durable criteria? The Ceremony + Games cost billions but relied heavily on volunteers. It's now time for a run down of where the money went.
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Comments 5 of 12