The Metropolis

The 2012 London Olympics did not make more Londoners play sport

Mike Pollitt | Tuesday 30 July, 2013 10:06

●

The Evening Standard just did a “one year on from the 2012 London Olympics” opinion poll. This produced a pretty positive news story and accompanying editorial which you’d have to say is fair enough. One of their headlines, however, did make me wonder. It ran:

83% think Games made more people play sport

It’s nice that 83% of people think the Olympics encouraged more people to play sport.

What would be nicer if is the the Olympics had actually encouraged more people to play sport. Can we find this out?

Happily, the latest figures on sport participation came out last month (Jun ’13). The London news?

“The proportion of adults in London participating in at least one session of sport each week has decreased from 36.5% in 2011/12 to 36% in 2012/13”.

Similar picture nationwide.

Gah.

Filed in:

Snipe Highlights

Some popular articles from past years

  1. Nice Interactive timeline lets you follow Londoners' historic fight against racism
  2. A unique collection of photos of Edwardian Londoners
  3. An interview with Desiree Akhavan
  4. The five spookiest abandoned London hospitals
  5. Random Interview: Eileen Conn, co-ordinator of Peckham Vision
  6. Hope and despair in Woolwich town centre
  7. Could red kites be London's next big nature success story?
  8. Only 16 commuters touch in to Emirates Air Line, figures reveal
  9. The five best places in London to have an epiphany
  10. Summer Camp: Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days