The Harris Interactive poll carried out for Metro also discovered that 65 per cent of youngsters believe that watching the world's best athletes compete in London will inspire more people to take up sport.

But only 36 per cent of all respondents said the Olympics would have long-term benefits of encouraging people to stay healthy – and only eight per cent of adults said they would be inspired to take more exercise.

Yet more than half - 54 per cent - of 16 to 24-year-olds think sports facilities will be improved for the long term.

"This shows a real opportunity for bodies like Sport England to use the games to help build a legacy with more people taking part in sport," said Harris Interactive research director Neil Russell.

Three out of four people think traffic will become worse during the games, while 64 per cent predicting steep rises in Londoners’ council tax bills.

And the excitement is not shared north of the border, with only 20 per per cent of Scots saying the Games would make them feel proud to be British - and nine out of ten saying the games will make no difference to how often they exercise.

Harris Interactive questioned 2,045 people online between June 1 and 9.