Paris Overwhelmingly People's Choice for 2012 Olympics

PARIS Overwhelmingly the People’s Choice to Host 2012 Olympics

The majority of consumers in 38 countries give Paris the nod

London, UK, 1 June, 2005: While citizens in hopeful Olympic host cities London, Madrid, Moscow, New York and Paris hold their breath in anticipation of the 6th July decision, a large number of the world’s inhabitants have already made up their minds about which city they would prefer, according to the findings of a global study conducted by market research firm, ACNielsen.

According to the ACNielsen survey conducted with internet users in 38 countries, the majority of the world’s internet population voted for Paris as their first choice of host city for the 2012 Summer Olympics. London was voted joint second choice along with Madrid.

“The majority of respondents in 27 out of 38 markets surveyed said they wanted Paris to host the Olympic games in 2012,” said Frank Martell, Chief Executive Officer, ACNielsen Europe.

The online study was conducted among more than 21,261 Internet users in 38 countries worldwide in early May.

The strongest supporters of the Paris bid, other than the French, are the Chinese followed by Belgians and the Greeks. Fifty two percent of Chinese consumers picked Paris as their first choice, 42% of the Belgians and 40% of the Greeks.

Looking at the results by continent, Paris was picked as the number one choice by a third of respondents in Asia Pacific, 31 percent of respondents in Europe and a quarter of respondents in Latin America. (Table 1)

The ACNielsen survey found that, quite naturally, patriotism and self-interest prevails when it comes to popular choice of host city.

Not surprisingly, 81 percent of the French voted Paris as first choice, 68% of British voted for London, 57% of Spanish voted for Madrid, 87% of Russians for Moscow. However, only 44% of American respondents supported New York’s bid.

“The Olympic Games presents a tremendous economic and tourism opportunity for any host city and being selected is often seen as global affirmation that the country and its infrastructure are capable of putting on such an international event.” added Mr Martell, “Not to mention the advertising and sponsorship deals associated with the event.”

Main supporters of London’s bid for Olympic Games came from neighbouring Ireland (39%), as well as Commonwealth nations New Zealand (25%) and Australia (22%).

In contending host countries, Spain and the UK, the popular second choice was Paris. The French reciprocated, gving the nod to Madrid as their second choice. Second choice for Americans was London, slightly ahead of Paris.

It’s worth noting that across all 38 countries, 15 percent of respondents thought none of the five cities should be the 2012 Olympic host city. This was felt the strongest in Latin American where 21 percent thought the 2012 Summer Olympics should be held somewhere else.

The ACNielsen worldwide online survey is a regular syndicated online consumer study, gathering information from regular users of the Internet around the world on their attitudes and preferences, consumption of media, products and services across different markets. ACNielsen spearheaded the establishment of access pools in the Asia Pacific region six years ago following the acquisition of www.consult.com.

Table 1: 1st Choice Olympic Host City by Region

Source: ACNielsen Global Survey May 2005

Table 2: Global Top 10 Ranking for 1st Choice Olympic Host City

Source: ACNielsen Global Survey May 2005

About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world's leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns. To learn more, visit www.acnielsen.com.