Summer is fading and with it we bid farewell to the momentous Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2012. So to complete our eight month-long mood tracker, we carried out two Paralympic-specific surveys which book-ended the action. Once again, we tracked the three consistent measures of pride, excitement and good-for-Britain as well as probing people’s impression of London 2012 as a whole.
Well, we gladly hold our hands up and admit we were wrong when we suggested that 7 out of 10 might be as proud as Brits get at being British. Over the past two weeks, pride has climbed to its highest point during the entire tracker. In the first Paralympic wave it reached 7.8, but continued to increase to a spectacular 8.2 out of ten by the end of the Paralympics. The awesome performance of our Paralympic athletes including Ellie Simmonds, David Weir, Jonnie Peacock, Sarah Storey and many more, surely stirred that final push of pride inside us. Perhaps we also feel so proud given that it was the Brits who effectively launched the Paralympics, with a competition between patients at Stoke Mandeville in the 1940s, and hosting it on home soil for the first time is a reminder of that fact.
Years of planning, building and training came down to two extraordinary months, in which the world descended on London to see the best athletic ability on the planet, and London 2012 was all pulled off without a hitch. Well done Britain. That really is something to be proud of.
Excitement has remained at an impressively high level following the Olympics. Although it fell slightly from its post-closing ceremony high down to 60%, this was still 9% higher than pre-Olympic anticipation. Besides, it continued to rise throughout the Paralympics, finishing on a massive 73%.
At the end of the Paralympics, the South was the region with the highest levels of excitement (78%). Perhaps proximity to the event caused excitement to grow. A total of 2.5m tickets were sold, more than ever before for the Paralympics, and as tickets were bought on much more of a last-minute basis than the Olympics, it is likely that the events were mainly attended by locals. What’s more, most of the free events surrounding the Games were held in the South, so it really was the hub of the Paralympic action.
In our first Paralympic survey, 76% of people thought the Paralympics were a good thing for Britain, a small drop of 5% since August, but nonetheless 16% higher than just before the Olympics began in June. It didn’t stop there though: in an unprecedented surge of positivity we have ended London 2012 with a phenomenal 85% of Brits agreeing that the Paralympics will be good for our nation. This is the highest this measure has reached across the entire mood tracker, including in August when all three measures jumped significantly. What’s more, over half (54%) strongly agree with the sentiment, which is more than agreed in total back in February when the tracker began (51%).
Our cynicism has well and truly fallen away and the Paralympics seem to have played an important role in achieving this. After all, these Paralympic Games have been hailed as a game changer in Britain. Seb Coe stated that “In this country… we will never think of disability in the same way”. In fact, having seen both Games back to back, Brits feel quite strongly that they ought to be treated with greater equality: 68% think that the Paralympic Games should be joined up with the Olympic Games into one event and 60% think that tickets should be valued at the same price. We want our athletes to be recognised and remunerated more appropriately going forwards: 75% think that Paralympic athletes should receive equivalent funding to their Olympic counterparts. Richard Whitehead was quoted saying: “I wanted to show the Olympic and Paralympic athletes are on the same platform now”, and it seems he may have achieved this goal. That is certainly a positive change for our nation.
Faces of the Games
London 2012 drew our attention to a host of previously unsung heroes; athletes whom, following their spectacular efforts over the past couple of months, we have taken into our hearts. With regards to Paralympians, 73% of people agree that they feel inspired by them, rising to 79% in the 18-34 age group. Brands take note: this inspirational quality will translate well into marketing; 79% agreed that Olympic and Paralympic athletes make very credible ambassadors for brands and 65% agreed that would rather see advertising featuring an athlete than a celebrity. It will be interesting to see if this is just a short-lived sentiment, though several athletes have already represented brands this summer, for example Jessica Ennis for Olay and Jonnie Peacock for BT. It has even been rumoured that ITV has approached a number of Olympic stars to appear as guest mentors on the X Factor. It would appear that Olympic glamour has outstripped the glitz of reality television. It also seems that football’s days may be numbered as the big money-spinner of the sporting world; 61% agree that the performance of the Olympic and Paralympic athletes has made them feel intolerant of footballers and their behaviour and over half (58%) would like to see brands sponsor less mainstream sports such as rowing or judo.
So after six months of ‘Olympic moaning’ from when our tracker launched in February to the start of the Games in August, we well and truly shelved our misery and threw all our efforts into enjoying what proved to be an immensely successful Games. Over half (53%) agreed that they felt less stressed about everyday life and just enjoyed the experience. And after all the blood, sweat and tears, the medals and the heart-racing moments, how did the Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2012 make us Brits feel? Interestingly, our respondents selected the same top three emotions for both the Olympics and Paralympics: proud (75% for Olympics and 68% for Paralympics), inspired (38% for Olympics and 48% for Paralympics) and impressed (32% for Olympics and 38% for Paralympics). That’s not a bad review for what has been dubbed “the greatest show on earth” – directed, produced and, ultimately, starring Britain.
Watch JWT London Executive Partner James Whitehead talk about the Tracker on Sky News below
Click here to view JWT’s Mood Tracker collection.
Note: JWT surveyed 350 British citizens twice, once at the start of the Paralympics and then again following the closing ceremony. Regional samples have been weighted to be nationally representative.
Survey questions in wave 1:
1. On a scale of 1-10 (where 1=not at all proud and 10=extremely proud) can you tell us how proud you are to be British?
2. How far would you agree that you are excited about the Paralympic Games this summer?
3. How far do you agree that the Paralympic Games will be good for Britain?
4. How far would you agree that you feel inspired by the athletes competing in the Paralympic Games?
5. Thinking about the official sponsors of the Paralympic and Olympic Games, please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements.
6. Thinking about the official sponsors of the Paralympic and Olympic Games, please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements.
Survey questions in wave 2:
1. On a scale of 1-10 (where 1=not at all proud and 10=extremely proud) can you tell us how proud you are to be British?
2. How far would you agree that you felt excited by the Paralympic Games?
3. How far do you agree that the Paralympic Games will be good for Britain?
4. Thinking about the Olympics and the Paralympics, how far do you agree with the following statements?
5. Thinking back over the course of the Olympics and Paralympics, how far do you agree with the following statements?
6. Thinking back over the course of the Olympics and Paralympics, how did the events make you feel? Please select your top 3 emotions for each.