Towards an Olympic volunteering legacy: motivating volunteers to serve and remain - a case study of London 2012 Olympic Games volunteers

Volunteers are often seen as 'soft infrastructure' following the legacy plans of host nations aiming to stage the Olympic Games.This refers to social mobility and the potential of further utilising such volunteer resources for other future events and activities that would benefit the community. The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of a volunteer legacy following volunteers' involvement with the London 2012 Olympic Games. A total of 163 volunteers involved with the transport department of London 2012 completed a web-based survey. Factor analysis was employed to summarise volunteers' motivations. The analysis yielded five reliable dimensions of their motivations. Regression analysis was then applied to identify which motivations, sociodemographic characteristics and sport engagement variables had an impact on future intentions for volunteering. The implications of the findings for a potential social legacy of volunteering are explored.