Our national survey – conducted in conjunction with our field partners PureProfile from July 16-18 – showed that 22% of us love the Olympics and will watch as much as possible, with a further 22% saying they are quite interested and plan to watch a fair bit. Around one third (32%) said they would watch selected events only, while a quarter of us held little to interest in the event at all.
Key difference by demographics included:
- Interest in the Games increases somewhat with age, with the highest proportion of those indicating they love the Olympics and will watch as much as they can being observed among those aged 70+ (26%, compared to just 19% for those 30 or under). Perhaps the cumulative impact of witnessing significant Olympic events over their lifetime has garnered this cohort’s strong interest!
- Those speaking a language other than English at home were more likely to have at least some interest in the games – no doubt keeping an eye on the performance of countries they have history and ongoing affiliation with through family and friends.
When it comes to sports most likely to be watched, its perhaps not surprising that the blue ribband events of swimming (44% including in their top three events of interest) and athletics (34%) are top of the pops for most – especially with Australia commonly tipped to dominate in the pool and 2024 seeing our largest ever athletics team heading to the French capital. Beyond this there is also strong interest in basketball (13%), football/soccer (13%) and diving (12%).
Some interesting differences in interest were also observed across the data:
- Women are significantly more likely than men to place diving, artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and equestrian in their top 3 sporting events, whereas men are significantly more likely than women to place basketball, football, beach volleyball and track cycling in their top 3 events.
- By state, those from Victoria were significantly more likely to place basketball in their top 3, while those from Queensland were significantly more likely to include rugby sevens and golf in their top 3.
“With significant interest in the Games and the somewhat unfavourable time zone difference we anticipate some blurry eyes and perhaps some sub-optimal productivity at work over the next two weeks” said James Wunsch, head of social research at Bastion Insights.
“With the Olympic party only rolling around once every 4 years, hopefully Aussie employers will join in the spirit and show some empathy for their workers seeking to witness another chapter of Olympic history being written.”
