The Perceived Influence of Sport Event Spectatorship on Subjective Wellbeing

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceived influence of major sports events on the subjective wellbeing of spectators. The research covered three sporting events featuring racket sports held in the UK between 2017 and 2018 and was concerned with spectators (aged 16 and over) who attended one of these events. Four aspects of subjective wellbeing were considered: life satisfaction, happiness, feeling worthwhile, and anxiety. A composite subjective wellbeing measure encompassing these aspects was also developed. Primary data were collected from spectators at each event and an overall spectator sample of 362 was achieved. Respondents perceived that their subjective wellbeing was enhanced significantly as a consequence of attending major sports events across all measures. We also found that frequency of event attendance and being inspired by events to be more physically active were positively and significantly associated with perceived improvements in subjective wellbeing attributed to attending events. Our study indicates that there are two potential mechanisms through which improvements in subjective wellbeing from attending major sports events are manifested. First, a direct effect of being at an event on subjective wellbeing. Second, an indirect effect of event attendance on subjective wellbeing that stems from a feeling of inspiration.

观看体育赛事对主观幸福感的感知影响

本文目的为研究大型体育赛事对观众主观幸福感的感知影响。该研究涵盖了2017年至2018年间在英国举办的三场球拍体育赛事, 所关注的是其中一项体育赛事的观众 (16岁及以上)。主观幸福感包括四个方面：生活满足感、幸福感、快乐感、焦虑感。还制定了一项主观幸福感综合指标, 涵盖了以上各方面。每项赛事的主要数据都是从观众中收集的, 最终获得了362名观众的总体样本。受访者认为, 参加大型体育赛事大幅提高了他们的主观幸福感。我们还发现, 观看体育赛事的频率以及受到体育赛事的激励而参加更多的体育活动, 这些都与观看体育赛事后主观幸福感的改善显著相关。研究表明, 观看大型体育赛事可以通过两种潜在的机制改善主观幸福感。首先, 观看体育赛事对主观幸福感的直接影响；其次, 观看体育赛事对主观幸福感的间接影响, 这源于观看过程中所受到的鼓舞。

Keywords:

• Events
• happiness
• life satisfaction
• spectators
• wellbeing

关键词:

• 体育赛事; 快乐感; 生活满足感; 观众; 幸福感

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Girish Ramchandani

Girish Ramchandani (Ph.D., Sheffield Hallam University, UK) is a Reader in Sport Management in Sheffield Hallam University’s Faculty of Health and Wellbeing. He specializes in investigating the economic and social impacts of major sports events. His research interests also include performance analysis in elite and professional sport and he is a trained Social Return on Investment (SROI) practitioner. His work has been published in journals such as Sport Management Review, European Sport Management Quarterly, Health Promotion International, and the International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics.

Richard Coleman

Richard Coleman (MSc, University of Sheffield, UK) is a Principal Research Fellow in the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University. His main research interest is event impact evaluation and he has managed research projects at events such as Wimbledon, the London Marathon and the Ryder Cup.

Robbie Millar

Robbie Millar (BSc, Sheffield Hallam University, UK) is a Research Assistant in the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University. He organizes and leads fieldwork teams and designs survey instruments to produce high-quality primary data that can be used to examine the impacts of major sports events.