People backing Hambantota’s 2018 CWG bid – Nielsen survey

Monday, 27 June 2011 01:36 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A survey among 2,600 people in all nine provinces of the country indicates an overwhelming nationwide support from all regions for Hambantota’s Commonwealth Games bid.

The survey was undertaken as a part of the bidding process and was conducted among males and females aged 14 to 70 years in March and April this year by The Nielsen Company.

When asked how supportive they were of Hambantota’s bid, as many as 87% of the sample was fully or somewhat supportive, with 63% being fully supportive. In the Hambantota District almost all (99%) were supportive and 86% were fully supportive of the bid.

A likely reason for this unprecedented popular backing for the Hambantota games is the strong interest that Sri Lankans have in sports. Nine out of 10 (92%) said they were interested in sports, with 43% saying they were very interested.

Many of those surveyed felt that the games would result in Sri Lanka being highly regarded by people from across the world. It was also felt that the games would bring in tourism opportunities for the country as well as being a channel for Sri Lanka to showcase its sporting talent.

Over 90% also felt that Sri Lanka would be able to provide adequate security for the games and a similar number felt that the games would be a platform for Sri Lanka to benefit from tourism and for Hambantota to be a destination for hosting global sporting events.