Established in the wake of lower than anticipated levels of event entries post-pandemic, The Mass Participation Pulse provides actionable insight to support event organisers, brands and anyone else with an interest in seeing more people, taking part in more mass participation events, more often.
We’ve created the largest and most in depth survey for the mass participation events market of its kind in the UK, having asked over 7,000 runners, walkers, cyclists, swimmers, triathletes to share their thoughts and opinions since 2022.
We’ve partnered with other event organisers, brands, charities, and entry platforms to help shape the future of mass participation events in the UK.
Our belief is that the best route to this growth is through better understanding current and potential mass participation event participants; why they take part, their behaviours, needs, thoughts and their attitudes towards active events. We hope that this report provides those insights, highlights trends and identifies opportunities to support the growth we all want to see.
While last year’s report focused heavily on attitudes to events post-COVID, this edition of The Mass Participation Pulse sheds additional light on the ongoing cost-of-living crisis’s impact on participants and event involvement. Happily, our research suggests that yes there are challenges, but also positive trends and clear opportunities for the mass events industry, suggesting there is cause for some optimism for the years ahead.
Key findings from this year’s report:
- People are doing more events. The median number of events people reported taking part in during 2023 is now back to the pre-pandemic levels we last saw in 2019
- Female participants are back, after being the group most likely to report taking part in fewer events immediately after the pandemic. Female participants increased participation levels by more than men in 2023 and are more positive about 2024
- A new generation is arriving, with almost 10% of people we spoke to having taken events and activity up since the end of the pandemic
- Younger participants (18-34 year olds) are most likely to plan on doing more events in 2024
- People plan to do more events, despite pressures on income.
41% of people we spoke to are planning to increase the number of events they will do in 2024 compared to last year - Cost of living pressures are starting to hit home, with 58% reporting falls in disposable income in 2023 and 48% expecting levels of income to fall again this year
- Participants are concerned about rising event costs but see value in the great experiences events can offer
- Sustainability continues to grow in importance for event participants, with younger participants more than twice as likely to say event organisers are not doing enough around sustainability
About Us:
At massive we work in partnership with our clients to create, develop and deliver live event experiences that make a difference.
We’ve managed sponsorship activations for global brands, worked on the UK’s most successful fundraising events and delivered the logistics, branding, wayfinding and staffing support for some of the world’s biggest events.
Get in touch if you have any questions regarding the pulse or need support with your events or campaigns.
