Sport is good for our health. It is relaxing. It improves social relations. But European citizens prefer TV. That’s one of the more striking findings that emerge from a survey recently conducted by Eurobarometer in preparation for the European Year of education through sport in 2004. The activities that Europeans declare they practice in their spare time (it was possible to express more than one choice) are, in order: watching television 88%, surfing the Internet 19%, engaging in sporting activities 15%, videogames 6%, and cultural activities 4%. The citizens of the northern countries are by far the most dedicated to sports: 70% of Finns and Swedes practice physical activities at least once a week; they are following by the Danes (53%), the Irish (43%), and the British (42%). At the bottom of the league table is Greece: in the homeland of the Olympic Games only 19 citizens out of every 100 engage in sporting activities. Among the citizens who practice sport, 47% do so independently, i.e. without being member of a club, gym or sports centre. Among the beneficial effects deriving from sport, the citizens interviewed during the survey cite the improvement of health (80%), relaxation (48%), entertainment (47%), and the development of physical performances (47%). Many interviewees also drew attention to the “positive social dimension of sport” and its role in “combating every form of discrimination”. On the other hand, considerable disquiet is created by the problems linked to doping (mentioned by 74% of those interviewed) and the excessive sums of money involved in competitive sports. Another major concern is that “sporting activities be integrated in the education of the young” (80% of the sample) and that “more time be allocated to sport in the school curriculum”.
