4147.4.55.001 - Culture and Recreation News, Mar 2011  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 17/03/2011   
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SPECTATOR ATTENDANCE AT SPORTING EVENTS


An overview of Spectator Attendance at Sporting Events, 2009-10

The findings from the survey Spectator Attendance at Sporting Events, 2009-10 (cat. no. 4174.0) were released on the 21 December, 2010. The survey found that over two-fifths (43% or 7.6 million) of the Australian population aged 15 years and over reported that they had attended at least one sporting event during the 12 months prior to interview. The attendance rate at sporting events in 2009-10 was similar to that in 2005-06 (44%).

Nationally, the highest attendance rates for 2009-10 were reported for Australian Rules football (16% or 2.8 million) and horse racing (11% or 1.9 million). The sports that were most popular to attend in 2009-10 were also the most popular to attend in 2005-06. Outdoor soccer was the only popular sport to report a statistically significant increase in attendance between 2005-06 and 2009-10 increasing from 4% to 5%.

Males reported higher attendance rates (50%) than females (37%) overall and this pattern continued for nearly all individual sports. Males had higher attendance at Australian Rules football (19% compared with 13%), motor sports (11% compared with 5%) and outdoor cricket (6% compared with 2%).

The rate of attendance increased with higher income, and decreased with increasing age. Australians aged 15-17 years reported the highest attendance rate (58%) with people aged 65 years and over reporting the lowest attendance rate (23%).

Further information can be found by going to the ABS website, where this publication and others about people's participation in sport and physical activity can be accessed from the Culture and Recreation Topics @ a Glance page.