Long-term sport participation after the Olympic Games: from ‘inspirational feelings’ to ‘inspirational effects’

Abstract

This study explores ‘inspiration’ in the context of the Olympic Games, focusing on the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics years after the event hosting. Utilizing a retroductive strategy, the study identifies key sources of inspiration, constructs a causal model based on existing literature, and validates it through qualitative and quantitative data. Although contextual differences exist between the two cities, similar findings emerged: inspirational feelings have indeed persisted years after the hosting of the Games, largely attributed to the ‘elite role model’ effects and ‘the overall experience of the Games’. While the effects of such feelings on sports participation vary, in Beijing at least, the hosting of the Games had a significant correlation with participation in sport/physical activity in the years that followed. While hosting such events might be valuable for promoting participation, its influence should not be overstated, and further research is needed to fully understand its long-term effects.

Keywords:

• Sport and physical activity participation
• sporting events
• impacts and legacies
• inspiration
• Olympics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).