June 17th, 2024, Lesley Simeon
The allure of the Olympics transcends borders and cultures, drawing in many viewers for a multitude of reasons. Some perhaps follow the games for the thrill and excitement of the event, while some may be tuning in just to continue their family Olympic-viewing tradition.
A recent YouGov survey asked consumers across 17 international markets why exactly they watch the Olympics. More than half of all consumers who watch the games (52%) say they do so, understandably, to enjoy the spectacle and excitement of the event. Further, 46% of them tune in to support their country’s athletes and for national pride and a similar proportion (45%) like to watch the games to witness participating athletes’ feats and performances.
More than a quarter of consumers (26%) who watch the games are trying to evade the feeling of missing out – they watch the event to feel a part of the spectacle.
National pride motivates 35-to-44-year-olds the most (48%) compared to other age groups, while respondents aged 55 years and above (53%), who watch the Olympics, are most likely to do so to witness athletic performances and enjoy the spectacle of the event (58%).
Olympic Viewership: A Market-by-Market Breakdown
Indonesians are the most likely to watch the Olympics to support their country’s athletes (64%), followed by Indians (55%). Notably, athletes from Indonesia won five medals at Tokyo 2020, while those from India won seven.
Three in five Swedes (60%) to see how the participating athletes perform, so do more than half of all Americans (56%) and Danes (55%) who watch the Olympics.
For equal proportions of Mexicans (61%) and Spanish (61%) it’s the excitement and spectacle of the event that draws them to watch the Olympics, while 60% of Hong Kongers, they watch the game for a sense of being part of a global event.
Enjoying the spectacle of the games is a leading motivator within a number of markets surveyed - Great Britain (57%), Singapore (54%) and the UAE (48%) for instance.
In Great Britain, people are more likely to tune in to enjoy the spectacle of the games.
More than two in five Hong Kongers (42%) also watch the event because their friends and family watch it. UAE follows at a distant 23% to watch the event for the same reason.
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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 17 markets with sample sizes varying between 423 and 1346 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in March 2024. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.