Sports participation in Paris and across France has consolidated following the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. According to the National Institute for Youth and Popular Education -INJEP-, 61% of people aged 15 and over practised sport at least once a week in 2025, two percentage points more than in 2023 and seven points higher than in 2018, based on the first national barometer conducted one year after the Olympic event.
The survey, carried out among 4,010 respondents, also shows that 72% of the population engaged in some form of physical activity over the previous 12 months and that one in three people practises three or more disciplines. The impact is also visible in reduced inequalities: the participation gap between men and women has narrowed to one point, compared with six points in 2018, while young people remain the most active group, with 84% of those aged 15 to 29 practising sport regularly. In parallel, the budget surplus from Paris 2024 will fund 13 sports projects worth 3.27 million euros, focused on swimming, inclusion for people with disabilities and strengthening local sports clubs.
Tokyo 2020 and the rise in weekly participation
In Tokyo, host of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the increase in sports participation was reflected in official data from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. A survey conducted in October 2021 showed that 68.9% of residents practised sport or physical exercise at least once a week, representing an increase of 8.5 percentage points compared with the previous measurement using the same indicator.
The report highlights that growth was particularly strong in individual outdoor activities and in community-based programmes promoted after the Games, in a context shaped by the gradual reopening of sports facilities. The metric used — weekly frequency — points to a sustained change in sporting habits among Tokyo’s population in the period immediately following the Olympic Games.
Decline in sedentary behaviour after Athens 2004
The case of London provides one of the most extensively documented examples of post-Olympic change. According to Sport England’s Active People Survey, between October 2011 and October 2012 — a period encompassing the London 2012 Olympic Games — the number of adults practising sport at least once a week increased by 750,000 people.
By the end of the April 2012–April 2013 cycle, in the post-Games period, weekly participation levels remained 530,000 people above the pre-Olympic baseline, reaching 15.3 million active adults in England under the criterion of at least 30 minutes of moderate activity per week. The data show a peak aligned with the Olympic year and a partial retention of that increase in the months that followed.
In Athens, the Athens 2004 Olympic Games coincided with a marked reduction in declared sedentary behaviour. Eurobarometer data indicate that the share of the population stating they never exercised fell from 75% in 2003 to 57% in 2004, the Olympic year. This decline of 18 points occurred over a short period and reflects a significant shift in declared physical activity habits following the event, although later analyses underline that medium-term trends were influenced by economic conditions and sports policy choices.
Beijing 2008 and sustained growth in physical activity
In Rio de Janeiro, host of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, post-Games studies also identified an increase in physical activity. Research focused on local residents found that 51.6% of respondents reported having increased their level of physical activity after the event, while more than 60% expressed greater motivation to practise sport on a regular basis.
In Beijing, the legacy of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is reflected in long-term official data. According to figures from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the proportion of the population engaging in regular physical activity rose from 28.2% in 2007 to 37.2% in 2020. This increase occurred alongside post-Games public policies, such as the introduction of National Fitness Day in 2009, and illustrates sustained growth in official indicators of sports participation following the Olympic event.
