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| 26 June 2008 | Hong Kong | | | Olympic Games Most Popular Global Sporting Event for Hong Kong Audiences | | | Visa survey finds strong interest in the Games and the performance of the Olympic Team in Hong Kong | |
Hong Kongers have rated the Olympic Games their top global sporting event according to a survey commissioned by Visa International.[1]
Visa, a proud worldwide Olympic partner, commissioned the survey to seek the views and levels of interest in the Games of people from key countries and territories in the Asia Pacific region outside Mainland China.
Of the 508 respondents from Hong Kong who were asked to rank their interest in a variety of global sporting events on a scale of one to five, 77 percent gave the Olympic Games the top four and five scores as the most popular global sporting event (see Table 1), ahead of the FIFA World Cup (given top four and five scores as top global sporting event by 52 percent) and the Asian Games (given top four and five scores as top global sporting event by 48 percent of those surveyed).
Interest in the Olympic Games also outranked other global sporting events such as Formula 1 (given top scores as top global sporting event by 37 percent of those surveyed) and the Rugby World Cup (given top scores as top global sporting event by 19 percent of those surveyed).
More than half of all respondents (56 percent) said they would be interested in the Olympic Games no matter where it was held. But interest in the host city, Beijing, was a strong pull factor for people in Hong Kong (43 percent). Of those who said they were very interested in the Olympic Games, 49 percent said they were most likely to make plans to visit Mainland China because the Games were being held there this year.
Support for Team Hong Kong also seems to be high with 66 percent interested in tracking the progress of the athletes. Seventy-two percent of respondents also said they expect Hong Kong’s medal score card to be equal if not better than at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they would be keeping a close eye on the media tally throughout the Games.
James Dixon, Country Manager Hong Kong and Macau, Visa International said: “The Olympic Games are all about bringing people together and celebrating sport and competition. And we are seeing that borne out in the high level of interest in the Games, and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in particular. We can expect a strong level of support and interest from Hong Kong as the Games draw closer, especially as Hong Kong will host Olympic events come August.”
This high level of interest bodes well for the coming Olympic Games, which traditionally attracts billions of viewers. A record-breaking 3.9 billion watched the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, while 3.6 billion watched the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.[2]
Forty-eight percent of those surveyed thought that the upcoming Games will be the biggest and best Olympics ever. But for Hong Kongers, it is more than just excitement about the spectacle of the Games and the sporting competition. Eighty-six percent of respondents thought that the Beijing Olympics are a momentous occasion putting the spotlight on China and 82 percent thought the Games will boost China’s economy.
Dixon continued: “The Games are the ultimate opportunity for people to show their patriotic spirit when supporting their teams’ efforts at attaining Olympic medal glory while also a time for people to come together to enjoy the spirit of unity that comes from their shared passion.”
Table 1: Most popular global sporting events among Hong Kong respondents
Rank
| Event
| % Hong Kongers very or quite interested
| 1
| Olympic Games
| 77
| 2
| FIFA World Cup soccer
| 52
| 3
| Asian Games
| 48
| 4
| Formula 1
| 37
| 5
| Paralympics
| 28
| 6
| Youth Olympic Games
| 25
| 7
| Rugby World Cup
| 19
| 8
| Cricket World Cup
| 10
|
[1]Between 17 March and 9 April 2008, Nielsen conducted 4,556 online and door-to-door interviews on behalf of Visa with people aged 18 years and above from nine markets ( Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and India) in an effort to measure interest levels in global sporting events, China as a travel destination and, in particular, the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. For each market, quotas were set by key demographic variables to ensure the sample was representative of the general population. [2]International Olympic Committee, en.beijing2008.cn, Global TV viewing of Athens 2004 Olympic Games breaks records, 12 October, 2004. | | | |
About Visa:
Visa operates the world’s largest retail electronic payments network providing processing services and payment product platforms. This includes consumer credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, which are offered under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS brands. Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the world and Visa/PLUS is one of the world's largest global ATM networks, offering cash access in local currency in more than 170 countries.
For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.
| | Contact:
Ketchum Hong Kong
Thomas Kwan
Tel. (+852) 3141 8090
Fax. (+852) 2510 8199
Email. thomas.kwan@knprhk.com
Katty YeungTel. (+852) 3141 8111
Fax. (+852) 2510 8199
Email. katty.yeung@knprhk.com
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