The poll by sports nutrition company Myprotein discovered that over three-quarters of Britons are not only unexcited by the upcoming Olympic Games, but also “could not care less”, claiming that they would “prefer to watch reality TV shows” such as Big Brother and X-Factor or soaps such as Eastenders.

 

Over a third of those polled blame the credit crunch for their lack of enthusiasm.

 

Of the 1,795 people polled, 76 per cent “could not care less” about the impending Beijing Olympics, despite the fact Britain will be hosting them in 2012.

 

The survey asked the same question relating to the 2012 Olympics which Britain is hosting, and results were better, with 46 per cent stating that they were "excited" by the prospect of the Games in Britain.

 

The poll discovered that 23 per cent of the public stated that they would prefer to watch Channel 4’s Big Brother rather than support British athletes, whilst 17 per cent would prefer to watch ITV’s X-Factor.

 

Nearly a third - 30 per cent - of those who stated that they “could not care less” would “prefer to watch soaps” such as Eastenders and Coronation Street, with 16 per cent and 14 per cent of votes respectively.

 

It was discovered that 51 per cent of participants said that they have been more excited about them in previous years, and over a third of people who responded negatively, 34 per cent, blame the credit crunch and “other things to worry about” as reasons they are not so cheerful this year.

 

The research was intended to see whether Myprotein.co.uk saw any benefit in Olympic related marketing.

 

When asked "How excited are you about this year’s Olympic Games?", only 21 per cent of those polled claimed to be "very excited" or "excited", whilst three per cent claimed neutrality, being “neither excited nor unexcited”.

 

Oliver Cookson, the managing director of Myprotein, said, “It is obvious that the credit crunch has affected people’s priorities, as proven by the fact that over half of people claimed to have been more excited by previous Games.

 

"I only hope that media attention around it will raise the public’s spirits as happened with Wimbledon, as our athletes could all do with the public’s support.

 

"The fact that Brits are more excited about the 2012 Games says a lot about national pride, but we still have to ensure that our athletes get there in the first place, and that starts with continuing to develop talent through global events such as the Beijing Games.”