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In 2008, Lord Sebastian Coe and other prominent figures expressed a strong belief that the 2012 London Olympics presented an unprecedented opportunity to enhance sports legacy and boost participation in the UK. This belief, however, faced criticism from some quarters, suggesting it was more of a political stance than a substantiated claim. Previous assessments of sports events, including the Olympics, lacked empirical evidence on their impact on participation. The absence of a leveraging approach towards increasing sport participation also contributed to the lack of evidence. Despite this, the UK government and LOCOG constructed a narrative emphasizing the potential positive outcomes for sport participation from the 2012 Games, marking a departure from previous Olympics. The proposed mechanism for increasing participation, termed the ‘demonstration effect,’ was a subject of debate and remains a key focus of this paper. The study aims to unpack the demonstration effect by reviewing global sports participation policies, examining the processes influencing participation, presenting evidence from a systematic review of past events, and assessing the 2012 London Olympics as a unique case for testing the demonstration effect’s influence on sport participation. Ultimately, the paper seeks to provide valuable insights for future policies related to sports participation associated with the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The sport participation goals for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were initially rooted in a political belief in the efficacy of the demonstration effect, shared by policymakers in the UK, USA, Australia, and New Zealand. While some sport participation outcomes could be achieved by leveraging the demonstration effect, relying solely on it to attract new participants to sports appeared unlikely to succeed. The public and media believed the goal was to involve more Britons in sports, but the detailed targets focused on increasing participation frequency rather than attracting new participants.
The UK government and Sport England set a specific target of one million more adults participating in sports at least three times a week by 2012–2013. However, this target aimed at increasing the frequency of existing participants rather than bringing in new ones. The government’s legacy action plan emphasized using the Games to help people be more active, but there was a lack of clear strategies to leverage the demonstration effect.
Despite setting clear targets, there was limited progress, and the Active People survey reported only marginal increases. After the 2010 UK General Election, a new Coalition government promised to prioritize the Olympics and deliver a lasting legacy. The London 2012 Mass Participation Legacy Plan, “Places People Play,” was published in December 2010, but it focused mostly on supply-related investments and lacked strategies to leverage the demonstration effect.
Six months after the plan’s launch, sport participation figures showed a decline, leading to a shift in aspirations toward an indeterminate increase in participation, mainly in the post-Games period. Despite the belief in the inherent demonstration effect, policies were increasingly misaligned with evidence from previous Olympic Games and events. Post-Games figures indicated modest increases in sports participation, but the outcomes fell short of the ambitious targets set by the government.
This paper, based on a comprehensive global review of English language sources, highlights that effectively utilizing a demonstration effect in the pre-Games period can potentially increase sports participation frequency and re-engage lapsed participants. The study emphasizes that relying solely on an inherent demonstration effect to attract new participants is unlikely to succeed. The findings apply specifically to adults, and potential variations across genders, ethnic groups, or disabilities haven’t been explored. The relevance of the evidence extends beyond the Olympic Games to other major events like the Commonwealth Games and single sport mega-events like the Soccer World Cup.
Examining London 2012’s legacy plans and actions, the paper concludes that the Games did not succeed in attracting new participants or increasing participation frequency as anticipated by the government. However, it notes a lack of strategies to leverage a demonstration effect for stimulating sports participation demand in both pre- and post-Games periods. While the London 2012 Games did not deliver national-level sport participation outcomes, it neither confirms nor refutes the potential of a demonstration effect, emphasizing the need for future policies to consider evidence from prior Olympic Games.
The paper argues that hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games alone is insufficient to impact sports participation; additional investment in related initiatives is crucial. It suggests that if the primary justification for hosting the Games is to impact sports participation, it may be considered a poor investment. However, when properly leveraged with supplementary investments, the Games can encourage increased participation among existing participants and potentially re-engage lapsed participants. The paper cautions against viewing the Olympic and Paralympic Games as a magic solution for sport participation, emphasizing the need for specific, evidence-based outcomes and proportional investment aligned with societal goals.
Source:
Mike Weed, Esther Coren, Jo Fiore, Ian Wellard, Dikaia Chatziefstathiou, Louise Mansfield & Suzanne Dowse (2015) The Olympic Games and raising sport participation: a systematic review of evidence and an interrogation of policy for a demonstration effect, European Sport Management Quarterly, 15:2, 195-226, DOI: 10.1080/16184742.2014.998695