A survey by Nielsen, one of the world’s largest independent market research companies, found that over 98 per cent of the more than 400,000 on-site spectators were satisfied with the Budapest Athletics World Championships, with 84 per cent saying it was one of the best events they had ever attended, as reported in a statement by the organizers on Sunday, 8 October.
President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Sebastian Coe announced at the end of August that the Budapest World Championships set a new standard for everyone, and the numbers released by Nielsen support this statement. Based on data measured on-site by the company, it was revealed that spectators were ‘extremely satisfied to an extraordinary, unprecedented extent’ with the Budapest World Championships. According to independent research commissioned by the IAAF, 98 per cent, practically all of them, were satisfied with the event, with 81 per cent saying they were extremely satisfied.
‘These results, the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the spectators, and Sebastian Coe’s words all confirm that Hungary, the Hungarian organizing committee, and its cooperative partners have created a world-class event,’
State Secretary for Sport and Government Commissioner for the Athletics World Championships Ádám Schmidt claimed, then adding:
‘We succeeded in providing lasting experiences that can shape the relationship of those who attended the World Championships with sports for a lifetime. We hope that most of the spectators will be inspired to engage in regular physical activity as a result of the Budapest Athletics World Championships, making sports a part of their lives. Furthermore, we have shown the world that Hungary can host international sporting events of any size at an exceptional level.’
Compared to the previous World Championships in the United States, the average age of stadium attendees has decreased by ten years, fulfilling the organizers’ desire to attract more families and young people to the venue.
58 per cent of the spectators were attending an athletics competition for the first time, and in the case of Hungarians, two-thirds of them saw athletics live for the first time. 83 per cent of the spectators stated that they would follow the sport more closely as a result of the World Championships. The gender distribution among attendees was equal, with an equal number of women and men, which is also unique in the history of the World Championships.
‘It has been proven that we made the right decision when we built the Athletics World Championships not solely based around athletics and sports competitions, but also to provide an experience for those interested in the mere spectacle of such a fantastic event,’ CEO of Budapest 2023 Ltd., the organizer of the World Championships Balázs Németh said. ‘
74 per cent of Hungarian viewers came because they wanted to be part of the biggest sporting event in Hungary’s history. For 55 per cent of foreigners, it was an important motivation to get to know Hungary through the World Championships. The overwhelming majority of attendees felt that they received not only what they expected but much more, particularly in areas where it really mattered. This included the two fan zones, popular programmes in the stadium park, the option to arrive by boat at the stadium, affordable ticket prices, and even caps at the concession stands, essentially every step we took to provide the spectators with an experience, on the top of the sports competitions,’ he added.
85 per cent of those surveyed said that the event exceeded their expectations, while 84 per cent of the fans believed that the Budapest Athletics World Championships were one of the best events they had ever attended.
It was revealed that viewers considered the women’s 4x400-metre relay final the most exciting competition, in which Dutch athlete Femke Bol made a stunning, historic sprint from third place to the top of the podium in the final 100 meters. The most popular programme was on the evening of the eighth day, on 26 August, when Armand Duplantis, the world-record holder in pole vaulting and the current greatest and most popular male athlete, won by setting a World Championships record at the National Athletics Centre.
According to Nielsen’s survey, spectators felt that attending the Budapest Athletics World Championships was worth it. They also mentioned that it was very easy to purchase tickets, as long as they were available. While primarily more affluent individuals came from abroad, in Hungary, the discounts and reasonable prices attracted fans with average incomes, as stated in the press release.
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Source: Hungarian Conservative/Nielsen/MTI
