35% of British adults who have been watching the 2010 FIFA World Cup, have done so with the volume on their television sets turned down because of the sound of the vuvuzelas.
The traditional South African horn often blown at sports matches has been a controversial talking point through the 2010 World Cup so far and it seems the response amongst the British public is mixed.
17% of respondents have been watching less of the World Cup because of the sound of the vuvuzelas and 6% say they will not be watching any more of the tournament in South Africa as a result of the noise.
Younger generations seem to be more tolerable to the noise, with almost half (45%) of 18 – 24 year olds claiming that the vuvuzelas have not impacted the amount matches they have been watching, compared to 31% of over 55s. In fact, 12% of over 55s who have been following the tournament say they won’t be watching any more of the World Cup because of the sound of the vuvuzelas, compared to just 3% of 18 – 24 year olds.
The vuvuzelas have also become a high scoring ‘topic’ on YouGov’s TellYouGov leaderboard. TellYouGov allows the public to give their opinion on any topic, any time and have it counted by submitting a message via text message, email or Twitter.
Some users, or ‘tyggers’ are in favour of the horns, commenting ‘They are part of African culture and no way should they be banned’, ‘I like them, they add to the atmosphere’ and ‘They are so creative and they bring people together’.
Others are more critical, commenting ‘Please FIFA get them banned, I've already turned the volume down on the TV now can't hear the commentary Next step is to turn off the telly!’, ‘Ruining my World Cup experience somewhat’ and ‘Sick to death of hearing them’.
World Cup organisers have said they will not ban vuvuzelas from stadiums in South Africa, so it seems that those against the horns will have to put up with them until the final on 11th July.