The Volunteering Legacy of London 2012 Games. A Pilot Study

The hosting of the London 2012 Olympic Games was seen as an opportunity to harness the enthusiasm of the 70000 volunteers involved and to provide a volunteer legacy post event. A total of 77 London 2012 volunteers completed a web-based open-ended survey. The participants were asked to indicate their level of current volunteering engagement and whether volunteering at the Games had an impact on their current volunteering levels. The study found that the London Olympics were the first volunteer experience for most of the volunteers who completed the survey, with the main motivation to volunteer being anything related to the Olympic Games. Just over half of the respondents are currently volunteering.Lack of time is shown to be the main barrier towards further volunteering commitment. Only half of respondents had been contacted by a volunteering scheme post London 2012. The implications of the findings for a potential volunteering legacy are then explored.