Public health perspectives and changed leisure behaviours among sport spectators following COVID-19

Abstract

ABSTRACT Building on the concepts of sport spectatorship, leisure involvement, serious leisure, identity, substitutability of leisure behaviour, and the leisure constraints and facilitators literature, this sequential mixed methods study examines sport spectators’ behaviours and their perceptions of public health during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as changed leisure behaviour and participants’ opinions regarding the health-related impacts of spectator sports. Utilizing a content analysis approach, this paper summarizes the qualitative, open-ended responses from a web-based survey administered December 2021 through March 2022. Participants’ experiences of leisure barriers, leisure facilitators, health concerns and new leisure behaviours, as well as participants’ overall public health perspectives of sporting events during COVID-19 are presented. Potential areas for future research are also discussed, specifically regarding changed leisure behaviour and socio-political complexities indicated among participants.