National Paralympic Day
Learnings from an annual celebration of the London 2012 Paralympic legacy and disability inclusion in sports.
Executive Summary
● National Paralympic Day 2015 saw increasing numbers of repeat visitors. Among respondents to the online survey (consisting of all ticket holders), 66% said they attended because they had attended the 2012 Olympics/Paralympics, while 28% said that they had attended NPD in 2013 or 2014.
● Indeed, a large proportion of visitors to the Olympic Park had seen live disability sport before (72%), which represents a rise on both 2014 (66%) and 2013 (62%).
● The ability to visit the Olympic Park remains a key draw of the event (31% said that is why they attended), as is the ability to watch elite sport (28%).
● Overall satisfaction at both the National Paralympic Day event in the Olympic Park and the regional events is very high, with both achieving an average rating of 8.9 out of 10.
● At the Olympic Park, 97% said that they found the sport enjoyable (84% said it was very enjoyable), while 85% enjoyed the other forms of entertainment on offer.
Overall impact
● The National Paralympic Day appears to have had a positive impact on those who attended.
● Overall, 58% of visitors say that it gave them a more positive view of disabled people. The event at the Olympic Park appears to have had the biggest impact, with 60% saying they had more positive views as a result of attending, while the regional events had slightly less impact (41% say it gave them more positive views).
● Further, as a result of attending the event at the Aquatics Centre, 10% of ticket holders say that they have been inspired to take up a new sport.
● 42% of ticket holders say that as a result of attending National Paralympic Day they feel more positive (15% say they are much more positive and 27% say they are a little more positive). No-one is more negative as a result of attending.
● Across all events, both regional and at the Olympic Park itself, a very large majority are interested in attending similar events in the future (96%).
● Similarly large proportions would recommend the event to a friend and want to find out more about events put on or supported by the British Paralympic Association.