Outrage in Britain over the empty seats at the London Games stadiums
Organisers fought to quell growing public outrage over empty seats across venues at the London Olympic Games where China has laid down an early marker with a world record win in the pool and a commanding early lead in the medals table.
Dispiriting images of rows of vacant rows at football stadiums, Wimbledon, the aquatic centre and beyond has angered Britons who tried and failed to buy tickets in the build-up to the Games having been told they had sold out.
More empty seats were reported on Sunday including at the equestrian dressage at Greenwich Park, despite the draw of Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter Zara Phillips making an Olympic debut.
Heavy rain after a hot, dry spell also put a dampener on outdoor events on the second day of full sporting contest, as did the announcement that Uzbek gymnast Luiza Galiulina was provisionally banned from the Games for a positive drugs test.
Olympic organisers launched an urgent inquiry into the seating fiasco to nail down precisely who had not taken up their places and why, given the degree of public outcry.
“It is a shame this happened but we are going to do everything we can to make sure we fill up those stadiums” said Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the British minister responsible for the Olympics.
“I was at the Beijing Games in 2008 and one of the lessons we took away from that was that full stadiums create the best atmosphere, it's best for the athletes, it's more fun for spectators and it has been an absolute priority.”
The embarrassment took some of the shine off the Games, where sport has began in earnest after a surreal and exuberant opening ceremony on Friday night which thrilled Britain but baffled much of the world because of its arty eccentricity and the fact that Olympic Games are an international celebration.
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Women's hockey......err.....some sort of game where women whack balls with sticks. My hope is that the Australian side are hot.
Besides, must people are happy to just sit and watch at home, i for one will not be travelling 300 miles down to london. If anything they should have held the games in a City that was more central, like Manchester. Making the games more accessible to people living in other parts of the country.
Argentinians had booked the seats.... couldn't get the $US to pay for the trip......
It appears that the empty seats were allocated not to sponsors but to the 'Olympic Family', that is VIP's, foreign dignitaries and sports associations, press etc. Sponsors are making sure their tickets are used and some have been returned for resale. New tickets come up for sale every day at the official website, I picked up a couple of extra tickets yesterday.
Interestingly, all of the ticket touts caught so far have been selling tickets allocated to foreign VIPs.
Sorry but a 300 mile trip down to london is a 600 mile trip, or 300 mile 1 day and cost of hotel for x amount of nights, plus 300 mile trip back. It be like going to paris for a holiday for those that live in the UK within 300 miles of Paris. Also is atlanta USA capital, is Sydney Australias Capital, is Munich Germanys? No they are not. Also the building of additional infastructure to cope with the Games, would have given a much more vital economic boost to the north, especailly around the manchester area not to mention provide much needed jobs as a result.
So sorry but i would much rathe have a 300 mile round trip than a 600 miles round trip. Plus most notherns can not even afford a 100 mile trip let alone a 600 mile round trip. Where as those living in the southern regions on better wages can afford to travel more. So is the london olympics a benefit to the UK and UK population as a whole. Now its more like an expensive show for those such as bankers and those that live in london or in the southern regions with above average wages.
Sure i can afford it no problem, but its not just the 600 mile trip putting me off, its the fact i have a business to run as well, so in my case business comes first, and does my business benefit from the olympics? No not one bit, only the sponsers get to really benefit and maybe business local to the olympic park, but that all really. So for me and the majority that live up north or own business, the olympics is nothing to celebrate but just another show on TV to watch. Off course i support our atheletes but thats as far as my support goes am afraid.
I have to agree that only London would have won this particular bid. It was based on sustainability, legacy etc. It is the first 'public transport' games, for instance, and no other city had the infrastructure or airport capacity for that. The bidding process is so blooming complicated.
What is so pleasing is to see the regeneration of the East End - not a wealthy part of the city - and the long-term planning regarding the Olympic village.
It has created housing and facilities to an area really requiring investment.
I didn't go to the Commonwealth Games in Manchester because I was out of the country but I think I would have. I am doing a 300 mile trip to see an Olympic event outside London mainly because I have some leisure time to do it this time. But I can completely see your point.
The empty seats are the tickets allocated to the Olympic Family, not the general public.
And YOU ALL KNOW if immigration and police had been striking in Argentina, if WE had messed the flags an anthems in an event, if we had empty seats, and if we had royally screwed up the design of the olympic cauldron in an argie Olympics, you would all be laughing, complaining, and bettliting us for being “bad organizers”.
In fact i have no doubts that in 2016 you will all have collective amnesia and criticize anything “third worldy” about the Rio Olympics.
Btw, what a bunch of dirty players the Great Britain men's hockey team, they are out to injure the argies! No class... and the fans are into it like its a final or something.
And then you all say there would be nothing there if not for the Falklands. :)
You are right in paragraph 2, that if Argentina made these same mistakes there would be undeserved howling and derision from the RG-haters.
Your own mockery in paragraph 1 is therefore needless.
Here in Chile the media has been universally impressed with the games so far and I am enjoying them although we have little to cheer. Glad to see that you are watching the RG team.
As for the hockey, I expected nothing less, sore loser!!!
The thing is this didn't actually happen in real life. This is something you have decided to make up in your own mind.
Nope, not just the argie haters, I will highlight those organizational gaffes because if those happen in Rio, you can be sure the Europeans and Americans will let out their racist side and claim it would never happen if they organized them.
THe fact you yourself admit that if the shoe was in the other mouth, we would be flayed, and not just us, any Latin country.
Wait for the US, UK and EU elitists to come out in full force in 2016... they will have “conveniently” forgotten about the London miscues, and of course lets not forget which olympics had a terrorist attack in them!
You were beaten fair and square.
Envy always supports the losers,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
As for the snub,
Just for you, eye went to the place today, and personally spoke to your flag,
And the reply was,
Leave me alone, I like it around here, its quiet and people leave me in peace, and besides, [the flag said]
Mr TTT said we needed no one, so no one comes to see me,
Its all his fault,
So there ya go,
No snub, he was just trying to please you.lolol.
.
even I heard their fans with bombos or sth like that...never seen before
Did the brits play dirty??? tipycal of them, they were desperate to win.
The argies were great, never give up, with much less economic possibilities and very humbles, the argies are doing their best.
the nasty brits,lol.
Err - I was talking about the UK - visitors from abroad want to come to London - it's as simple as that. At no point did I say only capital cities can host the games.
However it's perfectly true that the games should have been held in Manchester for your own personal convienience. The only problem is that the games would have gone to Paris if Manchester had been our candidate city.
1/4 final.next.
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