Has the London 2012 Olympic Inspire programme inspired a generation? A realist view

The organisers of the 2012 London Olympics have endeavoured explicitly to use the Games to inspire a generation. This is nothing short of putting the main claim of Olympism to the test, but surprisingly the Inspire project has received virtually no scholarly scrutiny. Using an educationally-informed view of inspiration, this paper interrogates the official evaluations of the London 2012 Inspire programme from a realist evaluation perspective and asks what are the theory, mechanisms and outcomes of the programme. It also considers the relationship between evidence, research and policy making in the context of the Olympic Games as an educational project. It is contended that the official evaluations of the Inspire programme failed to provide answers to the key questions of why, how and under what conditions the programme effects have occurred and for whom. In this way they further perpetuate the mythical powers of the Olympics to change young people’s behaviour through sport on the basis of highly problematic evidence.