London, UK – London & Partners launches new SMG Insight / YouGov research which shows London fever has spread around the world.

London is set to inspire the world over the next 4 months in the run up to London 2012 according to new research launched by London & Partners which shows the extent of international excitement about the Olympics and the host city, London.

In central London, outside the Olympic Park, a celebration of cultures will be hitting the streets, with National Olympic Committees creating a festival atmosphere by offering opportunities for fans from around the world to show their support for their athletes. Over 40 nations will be represented through official NOC Houses situated around London. The NOC houses will offer fans an opportunity to experience the national entertainment and culture, watch sports on big screens and join in celebrations during athlete appearances.

London 2012 is also creating a lasting global sporting legacy with over one-in-four people from sampled nations inspired to take up swimming and one-in-five considering taking up cycling this year. To capitalise on this interest plans are already in place to launch a new world-class cycling event in the city following the Games – cycling’s equivalent of the London Marathon.

Such is the excitement about the Games in China that two-thirds of the Chinese population, the hosts of the 2008 Olympics, are inspired to participate in Badminton during 2012 and over half intend to take up table tennis.

Music, culture and outdoor spaces are also important for international visitors to London. London’s river, squares and parks are an important attraction for visitors with almost 6-in-10 stating that they intend to visit London’s famous outdoor spaces. In these spaces, BT will be hosting BT London Live sites where medal events will be shown on the big screen and a daily schedule of cultural and arts showcases from around the world will be shown.

Retail will also experience a significant boost with over 40% of visitors planning to go to world famous shopping locations such as Harrods, Selfridges and Oxford Street.

Iain Edmondson, Head of the Major Events team at London & Partners, said: “During the Games, there will be a festival atmosphere filling the streets of London with numerous opportunities for the public to experience the spirit of the Games even if they don’t have tickets. After 2012 people will be able to turn the inspiration of the Games into participation, by entering London’s world-class mass-participation events such as the London Marathon, London Triathlon and new road cycling event.”

Key results from the London Sport Global Inspiration Survey show that:

•   28% of adults are inspired to take up swimming during 2012. 20% inspired to take up cycling.
•   Both modern and historic sporting locations are the most inspiring Olympic venues. 23% want to see the Olympic Stadium, 18% Olympic Aquatic Centre and 18% Wimbledon
•  23% of those surveyed favour watching Rafael Nadal and Michael Phelps. Rising stars such as basketball player Jeremy Lin (20%) and cyclist Mark Cavendish (13%) also feature as inspirational figures around the world. Usain Bolt is the most popular athletes for UK residents, with 28% stating that they are inspired to watch him.
• 69% of the Chinese population are inspired to watch basketball during 2012. Nearly a third (30%) of the international survey is inspired to watch athletics/running.
• Half of visitors to London are inspired to visit a museum or historic building. Slightly more (53%) will visit a tourist attraction such as Madame Tussauds and 57% will visit a park, river or public space.

The full report can be viewed and downloaded from here:

http://vlstatic.com/l-and-p/assets/events/london-sport-global-inspiration-survey-report.pdf 

For the full list of NOC houses available to the public and what’s going on in London throughout 2012 go to http://www.visitlondon.com/2012 

Image Courtesy of   Pete Niesen / Shutterstock.com

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