UK Data analysis finds that general public interest in sporting participation increased by more than double the normal rate during the Summer Olympic Games.
The arrival of a major sporting event like the Olympics brings a wide range of benefits to its host country and city. The IOC’s annual report for 2022 outlined a host of economic benefits alone, including more than an estimated USD 1.7 billion in 2024 alone by the International Olympic Committee to stakeholders in the community.
Much of this funding can go into improving the infrastructure of the host city, such as improved public transport, while it also helps to invest in the sporting facilities that not only host the games but also help local communities get involved. Aside from these material benefits, such high-profile sporting events coincide with a much greater public interest in sports in general. Viewership ratings have been up this year, compared to the Tokyo games, according to TV and streaming numbers shared by NBC, and ratings always experience a spike during the Olympic Games. However, does that general interest coincide with greater participation in general?
Even in some of the years that have had the lowest viewership, like the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo (held in 2021), there was approximately an audience of 3.05 billion worldwide, according to Statista. Interest in certain sports has also experienced a spike as a result of the Olympics shining a spotlight on them
“The Summer Olympics attract no shortage of people getting interested in new sports,” says Liran Froind, a sports data expert. “It’s always inspiring to see people accomplish at the very highest level in front of a world stage. That said, it’s not always easy to say that this increase in interest leads to an increase in anticipation.”
In order to discover the impact of major sporting events like the Olympic Games on the interest levels in sports participation, Froind, on behalf of Ticket-Compare.com, has carried out an analysis of Google search engine trends and has uncovered that there has been a notable surge in average search interest during the Olympics, as compared to before the event. In the UK, the average search interest in terms related to participating in or joining a new sport, increased by 263.78%.
“If you’re looking at search intent data as an indication of what people are interested in, what they’re trying to find out more about, or looking to get involved in, then it’s clear from this data alone that there’s a real spike in interest after the Olympic Games,” said Froind. “Whether or not that translates into people actually getting involved in another thing, and hopefully we get some data on that, but there’s no denying the clear inspirational effect.”
The study found that people in the United Kingdom tend to show a strong interest in sports that are typically less popular, using keywords that typically had no search interest before the Olympics. For instance, there was a search interest increase in “volleyball near me” of 71, and “Taekwondo near me” of 50.80.
“People seem to be discovering sports that they might not have had much awareness or interest in before the Olympic Games, and seeing them during the games is getting them online to find out more about how and where they can participate themselves,” said Liran. “As such, sports that don’t have as much interest outside of the Olympic Games can get a surge of popularity as a result of them. Hopefully, this would show as an increase in participants, as well.”
