In Britain, people are yet to be caught up in the excitement of the Olympics 2012 bandwagon, with the event competing with the upcoming UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League final to be played on May 19, 2012, between England-based Chelsea, and Germany’s Bayern Munich, followed by the UEFA European Championship in Poland and Ukraine.
The findings of a new study show that excitement around the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic games is rising, but is yet to catch up with the other sporting events that are in the offing. The Keller Fay’s TalkTrack Britain study is the only ongoing research project that tracks online and offline conversations, and its findings show that only 20 percent of the UK consumers have discussed the 2012 Games during April 2012, which is a slight rise over the March 2012 figure of 18 percent.
This is in comparison with 25 to 30 percent of UK consumers who have reported discussing football league matches in April 2012.
The attention of sports fans in the UK is expected to shift to the 2012 Olympics once the football and rugby seasons close, said the research.
Steve Thomson, the managing director of Keller Fay UK, said, ‘It’s clear that excitement about London 2012 is building, but at the moment traditional sports – football especially – are hard to dislodge from getting the main attention around the nation’s kitchen and pub tables. In England, this week has started with the focus on Roy Hodgson, and it seems that until the summer itself the Olympics aren’t yet top of the agenda.’