Sports Participation Changes in London Following London 2012 with National and International Comparisons

This report examines the impact of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on grassroots sports participation in London and compares London's participation with England, other English cities and other countries in Europe. Uses Sport England APS data 1x30 and 3x30 minutes data as a benchmark. Findings indicate that participation did increase in the year of the Olympics across both able-bodied and disability sports, but especially so across disability participation. Additionally, despite dropping from 2012/13 levels, participation in London remained higher than pre-Olympic levels in APS 8 2013/14. Additonal findings indicate London performs better than most national cities regardless of the year but participation levels are significantly lower than those found in Nordic countries. London sits approximately 11th in Europe for 1x30 minutes participation and 8th for 3x30 minutes participation.