Olympics 2012
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As one who applied for various tickets , mainly non prestige events , and got none I feel entitled to ask the question " who did get any seats " ?
Among the events I applied for was Wimbledon today ( Saturday ). The centre court was virtually empty when Wozniaki was playing . There were also lots of vacant seats at the swimming , which might be termed a prestige event with Britons expected to perform well .
So was the ticket allocation ( non allocation ? ) fair , or efficient , or just a mess up ?
Among the events I applied for was Wimbledon today ( Saturday ). The centre court was virtually empty when Wozniaki was playing . There were also lots of vacant seats at the swimming , which might be termed a prestige event with Britons expected to perform well .
So was the ticket allocation ( non allocation ? ) fair , or efficient , or just a mess up ?
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Couldn't agree more. The harsh reality seems to be that the allocation for joe public was very small indeed. Was particularly gutting to see GB gymnasts giving it there best ever with empty seats in the background - an event that was supposedly sold out.
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MCDONALDS HAS GOT EM!!!
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TO INSPIRE A GENERATION!!
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Better to see the seats empty than to have them filled with 'couch potatoes' who have never watched the sport before but convinced themselves that they 'had to get Olympics tickets'
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Empty seats at the dressage too this morning , and there is a royal competing ( and watching ) . Letting the side down the organisers , cant believe there was not unfulfilled demand for tickets .
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When you see the crappy British teams that have been put together for the Olympics and in the process denying a quality team from competing, you can see why there is a lack of support.
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When you see the crappy British teams that have been put together for the Olympics and in the process denying a quality team from competing, you can see why there is a lack of support.
Perhaps you'd care to name one. |
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And now its raining ! Wonder is there an evacuation plan for thunder and lightning ?
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It is standard practice to allocate a large number of tickets to the so called 'Olympic Family'. It happended at the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics that I attended and some poor soul had the job of sweeping the falling snow off the seats of a block of 200 seats in the grandstand which none of the 'family' had bothered to come and occupy.
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I fancied watching one of the equestrian events. There have been no tickets available for weeks. All of a sudden, today, tickets have become available for Tuesday, cheapest ones too, I doubt these are 'corporate returns'.
Where have these tickets been 'hiding'? |
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There are some tickets on the official site for the suites at the O2 for the gymnastics. Presumably some sponsors are feeling guilty and have returned.
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The "returns" ( if they are that in fact ) are no good to anyone unless they live adjacent to London . The logistics of arranging flights , accomodation , transport just not a starter for most of us without a decent time frame . That should be obvious to a blind man .
And its not as if its the first time London has had the Olympics . Think they might have got it near right 3rd time around . We will all enjoy the Games ( discounting the hype , the obsession with medals , the distraction it affords politically and economically ) , but who gets paid for not getting it spot on , its not rocket science , its a few computer programs and a bit of common sense . I'll recommend a few guys who can do that properly , and they are not geniuses , just efficient . |
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THERE WAS 48 TICKETS SET ASIDE AT THE VOLLEY BALL FOR THE DIRECTORS OF WOOLWORTHS
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I saw empty seats at Fed's tennis match....how did that happen?
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100m evening
and final relay evening currently availabale at £295 |
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THERE WAS 224 SEAT TICKETS LEFT AT THE BOX OFFICE FOR SADDAM HUSSAIN AND FAMILY TO PICK UP FOR THE JUDO HEATS
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SOME ONE SHOULD HAVE TOLD THE BOX OFFICE SADDAM HUSSAIN DIDNT REQUIRE THEM ANY MORE
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ITS ALL RIGHT SEB COE SAYING HE DIDNT WANT TO UPSET ANY OF IRAQS ASKING FOR THE TICKETS BACK ,BUTS THERES A LOT OF LESBIAND WHO WANTED TO WATCH THE JUDO ,AND WOULD HAVE LOVED THE TICKETS
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LESBIANS NOT LEBIANS
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gadaffi probably didnt use his tickets either
and the syrians might not be able to attend this week |
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IT SHOULD BE WRITTEN ON THE TICKETS IF YOUR COUNTRY IS AT WAR ,PLEASE SEND THE TICKETS BACK UNTILL THERES PEACE
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Moose , I reckon there might have been some "trousering" of tickets , lost in the general melee until now . But as questions are being asked ,some of these have become "too hot to handle" . Just a theory . Was offered tickets myself this morning for the eventing , but I was not interested at short notice with travel a significant logistical problem .
Anyway the initial blurb about tickets I read way back a year ago suggested that ticket transfer was tricky . Did that all go out the window with the baby and the bath water ? |
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THERES LOADS OF EMPTY SEATS BECAUSE FOREIGNERS HAVE BOUGHT TICKETS SO THEY CAN ENTER THE COUNTRY AND DISSAPEAR ,THEVE NO INTENTION OF WATCHING THE OLYMPICS
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THE BORDER PARROL SHOULD STOP THEM WHEN THEY SAY THINGS LIKE IVE COME TO SEE ABU SINGH IN THE 350 METERS BACKSTROKE
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AND WHEN THESE SOMALIANS SAY THEVE COME TO SEE THE THREE LEGGED RACE THEY SHOULD BE PUT ON THE NEXT PLANE BACK HOME
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THERES ALOT OF THESE FOREIGN SUPPORTERS HAVE COME HERE TO SUPPORT THEIR FAMILIES NOT THEIR COUNTRIES ,
IM NOT BEHIND THE DOOR |
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IM OFF TO WATCH THE FOOTBALL BEFORE I SAY WHAT I THINK
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the "Olympic family" had a late night out on Friday and couldn't be arsed to get up on Saturday for "just the heats"
don't worry though, they'll be using "their" tickets all right for the finals |
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disgraceful show, and only slightly less disgraceful is coe et al trying to gloss over it.
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Eight sets of tickets I applied for. I got one. Five more my girlfriend applied for. She got none. Then on the second ballot, she got basketball, only to be told it was then oversubscribed and hadn't really got any. I know of only one other person who applied for tickets who got any. This really has been a massive **** up which if had happened in another country would have been ridiculed by our press.
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I applied for 10 things in the first ballot, got 3. Applied for another 5 things at a later stage and got 3 more. Found the whole process easy, and whilst I got mainly things I'm less interested in, I think the way its worked has been fine.
Shame about the empty seats, but that's the IOCs fault for giving away too many corporate tickets. Everyone knows that corporate tickets has got well out of hand at all top sport and the only way to deal with it is to react from the bottom up against the most grievous offenders by organising well publicised boycotts of them. |
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The variety of events and venues in a modern Olympics is so wide ranging that allocating tickets has become a nightmare . Competitors are going to finish up in "final " positions and their nearest and dearest will not have tickets . So finals are tricky in terms of getting tickets .
But heats , preliminaries , and non prestige sporting disciplines should be easily accessible , given the contemporaneous nature of multiple sports taking place over a large area like in London . Even the BBC cant cover 2 events at the same time ( except on different channels ). Nobody can complain if they dont get a ticket for the 100 metres final for instance , although personally I would find watching Mary Keitany winning the marathon ( probably ) more interesting and better value for money ( as it will be free ) given a choice . The less expensive seats have been all filled apparently , which leads me to conclude there are cost considerations involved , anyone who would pay over £100 for a seat at anything but the premium events wants their head felt ( unless they had a vested interest in a competitor at that occasion ) . Think the organisers have been left with the expensive seats , the public voted with their visa cards . And it is very embarassing for those who are responsible for the sales pitch and the cost of tickets . But it detracts hugely from the occasion for the competitors who are performing in half empty arenas ( Wosniaki played her match on Saturday against a British girl in front of a handful of spectators ) . |
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Colin murray was talking about this today on radio5, you will be pleased to know
he thinks "positivity will come out of the negativity" |
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Must have been watching David Jason this evening as Frost . That exact phrase was used several times in tonights episode , motovational speaker etc . Jumped in through a window of opportunity .
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The less expensive seats have been all filled apparently , which leads me to conclude there are cost considerations involved , anyone who would pay over £100 for a seat at anything but the premium events wants their head felt ( unless they had a vested interest in a competitor at that occasion ) . Think the organisers have been left with the expensive seats , the public voted with their visa cards . And it is very embarassing for those who are responsible for the sales pitch and the cost of ticket
A very fair point Kelly. I am just looking at the ticketing site to see what is available now and am reminding myself of how out of touch the prices are. £325 and £225 to go to the women's basketball final? Really? Compare that to any top UK event such as FA Cup Final/Open Golf/Royal Ascot/6 Nations/British Grand Prix/Wimbledon and it is no wonder there are still prime seats left for minor Olympic sports. |
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But those £325 seats allow them offer others for under £40.
I applied for loads in the first ballot and got nothing. Applied for three things in second and got all three. Went on site three weeks ago and bought four centre court tennis tickets for Wednesday for £30 each. Could have easily bought loads more in the last month at very reasonable prices. Any sports fan determined and persistant enough could have bought tickets if they wanted. However it's wrong that Olympic family / corporate seats are empty and it needs to be sorted. Difficult for the London organisers though, I have some sympathy for them. |
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Berto , the initial application procedure was advertised as a ballot . Took them at their word , but it is now glaringly obvious that it was not a ballot , otherwise at least one of the 20 or so people I know who applied for tickets at mainly non premium events would have clicked something .
Those of us who needed to put in place travel plans at reasonable rates were put over the rail by the initial procedure . Someone needs to take cognisance of that . The procedure may appear to have worked OK for some , specifically those living near London who merely have to organise surface travel . Part of the UK has to get on a plane to get near London , unless you are prepared for a 14 hour journey . Disenfranchised was a term I used elsewhere , probably appropriate . But we are used to it , without getting into any political / logistical debate . |
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Given there's no prize money, the IOC must be making an absolute fortune.
Where does all the money go? Stadiums are already paid for |
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Very surprised to see any sympathy for organisers. The whole thing has been a shambles from start to finish. 8.8 million tickets. Of which well over a million have gone to Olympic family and sponsors. Hopefully the Olympic family will be stripped of most of them for future Olympics and sponsors wont be able to basically **** the IOC and Rio up the arse as blatantly as they have this year. Thank **** we lost the World Cup bid.
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