- Analysis of 24 years of Games data by volunteering abroad specialist, KILROY was conducted to establish the top volunteering nations
- Greece is at the top of the podium, with 1 in every 69 people applying to volunteer
- The curse of fourth place strikes again as the UK misses out on a podium spot to Australia by 0.004%
For the past two weeks, the world has marvelled at the power and grace of human athletic ability, celebrating every new achievement and record. As the curtains close on an impressive sporting spectacle in France, new research has highlighted that the spirit of volunteerism is the real winner.
The analysis by youth travel agency KILROY, which specialises in volunteer and gap year travel, has found that Greece reigns supreme for volunteering commitment following its valiant efforts for the 2004 Games.
Analysts looked at official volunteering application data[1] from the past 24 years to calculate what proportion of each country’s population applied to give up their time for free to ensure their Games were worthy of the world stage.
Gold medal: Greece
KILROY found that Greece, the official birthplace of the Games, demonstrated its deep-rooted commitment to the Olympic legacy with an impressive response in 2004. Remarkably, 1 in every 69 people (1.455% of the population) applied to volunteer.
Silver medal: France
Following impressive events this summer, France came in strong to take Silver, with 1 in every 227 people (0.441% of their population) applying to help with volunteering jobs, from vacuuming the fields of play to raking the lakes and everything required in between.
Bronze medal: Australia
The UK narrowly missed out on third place, losing to Australia by the smallest of margins (0.004%) for its efforts in 2000. Australia put forth a strong showing, with 1 in every 253 people (0.395% of the population) volunteering for the event. This performance knocked the UK off a podium spot, having achieved a volunteering turnout of 1 in every 256 people (0.391% of the population) back in 2012.
Full results of the volunteering analysis can be found alongside KILROY’s dedicated guide for volunteering this summer.
A high bar has been set as eyes shift to the United States ahead of 2028, where the Games are due to take place. If the USA wants to go for Gold, further analysis from KILROY shows that approximately 4,845,485 applicants from the current population size of 333 million would need to apply to volunteer to surpass Greece’s record.
About KILROY
KILROY was established in Denmark in 1991 and is now the largest youth and student travel agency in the Nordic region. Currently operating in eight markets across the Nordics, Benelux, and most recently the UK, KILROY specialises in life-defining adventures for young travellers, from working holiday visas to backpacking adventures, volunteer projects to epic road trips. For over 30 years, KILROY has been committed to providing young people with affordable travel to encourage cultural understanding and tolerance.
Feature Image by StarFlames from Pixabay
