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Despite the London attacks public support for the Olympic Games remains high, although slightly lower in London, according to latest research. Independent research agency, BMRB, conducted a national survey on issues regarding the Olympics last weekend.
When asked: “How good do you think that winning the 2012 Olympic Games will be for the country, or is it something you do not care about?” 74% of adults thought it would be good (54% “very good”, 20% “quite good”), while only 6% felt it would not be good (3% “not very good, 3% “not at all good”). Compared to those living in London 68% thought it would be good while those who felt it would not be good rose to 13%.
A fifth of all adults (20%) did not care or were not bothered about the win. The apathy vote was particularly high among 16-24 year olds (27%) and those of social grade E (25%). Regionally, the highest apathy vote was from those living in Scotland (33%).
Despite problems that have beset previous London building projects such as the Millenium Dome, Millenium Bridge and Wembley Stadium, over three quarters of all adults (76%) believe “all the new facilities for the Games will be ready in time”. Furthermore 72% thought “winning the 2012 Olympics will have a lasting benefit for the country”. The percentage of Londoners holding this view is slightly lower (67%) while those living in the South East (77%) and East Midlands (79%) were the most optimistic in this respect.
Regarding long term benefit to sport and the health of the nation, 82% of adults believe the Games will encourage children to play more sport, although those living in Wales (76%) and Scotland (78%) were less enthusiastic.
Transport remains a big issue for the Games. Despite last Thursday’s bombings, public transport performed well when compared to the car as an option for transporting spectators to the Games. When asked which transport methods would be able to the meet demand for people travelling to the Games, the percentage of adults saying yes was:
- Rail 68%
- London Underground 63%
- Bus 60 %
- Car 41%
Londoners were just as supportive of the tube as the national average (63%), but they were far more sceptical of the car with less than a third (31%) of Londoners believing this mode of transport would meet demand for travellers.
Contact
Shireen Crowe, Press Office - Tel: 020 7566 7020 Steve Cooke, Marketing Director BMRB –Tel: 020 8433 4381
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Notes
BMRB interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,010 adults in Great Britain by telephone between 8th and 10th July, 2005.
BMRB is one of the largest market research agencies in the UK and is a key operating company within the KMR Group. For more, visit www.bmrb.co.uk
KMR is a division of the Millward Brown Group, part of Kantar, the information, insight and consultancy arm of WPP.
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