BC Residents Pleased with 2010 Winter Olympics, But Fear Deficit

The public is divided on whether to join Seattle and bid to host the 2028 Summer Games.

Most residents of British Columbia remain satisfied with the decision to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, but half of them remain concerned about cost overruns, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

The online survey of a representative sample of 800 adults in British Columbia also shows that respondents are divided on a proposal to launch a joint Seattle and Vancouver bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Looking Back

About three-in-five British Columbians (58%) believe holding the Winter Olympics in Vancouver was worth it. This proportion has remained stable since the final week of the games. Also, four-in-five respondents (80%) describe the Vancouver Winter Olympics as a success.

As was the case in the first week of March, half of British Columbians (50%) expect a considerable deficit now that the Vancouver Winter Olympics have ended. About three-in-ten respondents (29%) believe the games will see a surplus or break even.

Summer Games

Despite the high level of satisfaction with the Vancouver Winter Games, the public is not embracing a possible bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in conjunction with Seattle. In all, 43 per cent of respondents support this idea, while 46 per cent oppose it. It is important to note that the level of strong opposition to the joint bid (31%) is considerably higher than the level of strong support (17%).

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

Methodology: From April 12 to April 14, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 800 randomly selected British Columbia adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.5%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of British Columbia. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.



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