Lessons from London for Sochi

Immediately after the London Olympics, the Russia Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) held a survey which aimed to determine Russian interest in the Games. Sociologists asked 1,600 respondents in 138 villages, 46 territories, regions and republics the following question: "Did you follow the course of the Olympic Games?" It turns out that the number of Russians who are more or less interested in the Games is about the same every year. "They can watch everything, only broadcasts of those events where Russian teams have a chance to win prizes, or broadcasts of only those events which are interesting for them, - the first deputy general director of VCIOM Konstantin Abramov said. – “In recent years, the number of our citizens who watch the Olympic Games ranges from 71% to 79%, and this year 76% of respondents followed the course of the Olympics in London, while 24% did not follow it at all. The percentage of those who do not follow the Olympics is also fairly stable: 22% -24%. "

Semiannually VCIOM asks the Russians about their attitude to the Sochi Olympics. In an interview to VK Abramov said: "With the approach of the Games, we will do more surveys. Naturally, this Olympics has increasingly attracted the attention of our citizens recently. It is interesting to ascertain the views of the residents of the North Caucasus, the southern regions, which are immediately adjacent to the host of these Games. Now I do not have these data available. Such a survey should be done, but all surveys should have a customer. This potential customer has not appeared yet. As for general expectations for the Olympics, social optimism is high enough. People wait for the holiday. It is hoped that there will be new jobs, the influx of tourists to the region, the huge investments by the government in the infrastructure of Sochi which will do well for everyone. And, of course, we need to form the anticipation of the holiday. The holiday will be great, I'm sure we can handle all the complexities and difficult situations that arise now. I hope that our athletes will be able to give rise to positive emotions. "

This year's London Olympics has made Russians feel pride and patriotism. If we compare the Olympics in London in 2012 to Vancouver, which was held two years ago, we will see that the estimates are diametrically opposed. "Disappointment, sadness" - such feelings of 46% of respondents were aroused by the Olympics in Vancouver. After London 39% of respondents feel "pride, patriotism", 37% feel "interest", and only 14% feel “disappointment."

Russia came forth by the quantity of medals, while in Vancouver it came eleventh. This increase in the number of medals was also felt by Russians. Evaluating the performance of the Russian athletes at the Olympic Games in London, the respondents gave the following estimates: "mostly successful" - 51%, "excellent" - 7%. The "excellent" grade after the Games in Vancouver was assigned only by 1% of respondents. Our performance was estimated as "disastrous" by 38% -39% of respondents.

Does the result shown by our Olympians correspond to the expectations that Russians have formed? Winter Olympics in Vancouver showed that our expectations were too high. "Worse than expected", 70% of respondents said. After the London Olympics 44% of respondents said: "Just as expected," and 13% said: "Better than expected."

If we assume that the Russian team performed poorly in the Olympics, what is the reason for it? Above all, the respondents complain about poor preparation of our athletes. There is no mention of the poor performance of the management or the conditions of preparation. Nevertheless, the share of those wanting to focus on the sport in the country, especially for children, has increased from 5% to 10%.

Replying to a question whether Russia would be able to repeat the success of the Olympics organizing countries, such as Canada and China, whose teams became the undisputed leaders by the number of medals, 11% of respondents said “certainly”. But this number compared to the survey two years ago dropped; it was 19% and decreased to 11%. The share of those saying “probably” remained the same, it was 40% of respondents. The share of people who said "probably no" was 31%, and "certainly no" - 6%.

Answering the question on what is more important – hosting the Olympics or directing efforts to the performance of the national team - public opinion was divided. To date, 44% of respondents (compared to 39% before) believe it is more important to gracefully host the Olympics. 51% (compared to 53%) insist that the most important thing is to win, and the organization of the competition is a secondary issue.