The Olympics

Simon Notley

Stone Glider wrote:

BTW what is the idea behind access being through a row of shops?

You mean why are a huge number of visitors from all around the world many of whom have means to pay thousands of pound per day for their olympic experience being funnelled through a brand new, shiny, up-market, much-publicised shopping centre (specifically through the sports and 'prestige brands' sections) on their way in to the Olympic Park...?

I think you may have answered your own question.

GiantMike

An Olympics? That sound like fun. When and where?

john-e-big-guns

The Olympic LOGO say's it all realy

"Take it up the Ar*e GB"

Pross

Rick Chasey wrote:

malcolm the badger wrote:

I don't know anyone who got tickets and I know lots who tried.
I am going down to see the TT though.
Just feel that all the best seats will have gone to corporate types,who may not even be that interested.

I got seats in the stadium .

Were not corporate seats.

I applied for 4 tickets and got them (equestrian in Greenwich Park) plus I could have got football tickets at any point up to a few weeks ago. I can't help feel that most of those moaning either:-

a) Didn't apply and are going on the press reports or;
b) Applied for tickets for one of the really popular events which were always going to be over-subscribed.

I'll be watching two cycling road races plus the 3 day event in the space of 3 days and a total cost of less than £50 plus 3 days accommodation for a family of 4 for just over £100. It's such a British trait to moan about anything like this. At first everyone was predicting the venues wouldn't get built or would go massively over-budget, now that this hasn't happened they have turned their attention queues at airports, ticket allocation etc. etc. Some people will be so pleased if the games do turn out to be a disaster :roll:

izza

slowlanejane wrote:

...blah blah blah....


.........The sponsors pay through the nose for their positions which all goes to offset the debt of the event. My local rail stations have all been spruced up. We have a lift installed at Slough at last and a new access bridge over the Thames. And all the towns & villages in my area are getting "dressed". We're getting big screen for our local park to show the sports live to those without tickets, all courtest of LOCOG, thanks very much.

In short its all VERY EXCITING! So you lot bahhumbug away ... or maybe some of you can put down your cynicism and just let yourselves enjoy it?

Since my council tax in London was raised to pay LOCOG:

- can I have the big screen once you've finished with it?
- do I get a lifetime pass to use the lift (I presume Slough's answer to the London Eye)?

If the answer to either of the above is negative then bahhumbug you!

rick_chasey

Turns out my big boss, who's been going on about how pleased he is to not be here during the olympics has just been totally screwed by the road race road closures .

Suffice to say, I laughed, long and hard.

alihisgreat

Did anyone manage to get any of the Track Cycling tickets today?


Unfortunately I couldn't because I didn't apply through the 1st ballot and those who applied 1st and didn't get tickets get priority to buy the rest which is fair enough.

Have got tickets for the Men's 100m final athletics session though and i will try for Box Hill tickets.. but if not will just go down for the cycling festival thingy that's happening nearby.

I love the Olympics

HonestAl

Shame so many people are unhappy about the whole thing.

Fates willing my kid will be one of the athletes representing GB. I'm quite proud.

rolf_f

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

Did anyone manage to get any of the Track Cycling tickets today?

Yep. I'd previously tried to get the Friday and Monday afternoon sessions. I tried again this morning and nothing was available for zone C (£95 was as much as I was prepared to pay) so I tried a couple more afternoons to no avail before trying zone B on Saturday morning - result!

So, I have shelled out a total of £101 for a zone B ticket to see some early events with no fit cycling chics and no finals but I reckon it will get me enthused for the remaining events on TV, I'll get a better seat than I expected and at least I get to go . It worked surprisingly well once I'd found the tickets but there were a series of count down timers at each stage of the progress so once I'd found one session, I had to stick with it. Aside from feeling a bit like I've been mugged, I think I am pretty happy!

eede

The word cup was just brilliant. Can't wait myself. The corporate stuff is a necessary evil, IMHO. I've learnt to become blind to it over the years.

laurentian

I've got tickets to the football at Old Trafford (anyone remember this place?), two games £20. This includes GB vs Senegal. In anyone's book, £20 to watch two international games is good value.

Of course, I would have loved to get tickets for the stadium, cycling etc but (and here's the rub for any detractors), they are (or will be) SOLD OUT - Athletics, cycling, greco roman wrestling, sailing, archery etc. You name it, its sold out. How this can be viewed as anything other than a success is beyond me. For every cynical rubbisher of The Games, there's a queue of people desperate to get their hands on tickets to see and be part of the Olympics.

If the Tour goes through a French village, the village roads will be closed fort the duration - the same with the games. The logisitcs of putting on this size of event mean that people will be inconvenienced - it is not unique to these games or to London.

Anyone watching the Champions League Final on Saturday will see adverts for Ford cars and no other cars, Mastercard and no other credit cards. Sponsorship is necessary to fund events of this magnitude and sponsors earn a degree of exclusivity (and yes, tickets) for their investment without which the games could not happen and we really would be left with a herd of white elephants.

You've probably guessed that I'm a supporter of the whole thing.

There's a sports journalist who writes for the Times called Simon Barnes. I read an article of his years ago about his experience of the first games he covered that really struck a cord with me. He said (and I paraphrase) that wherever you walk in the athletes village or in the stadia, on whatever day, you are never more than 10 yards from someone about to have the biggest day of their life.

Whether that's Usain Bolt shaking down for the 100m final or a female Afghani badminton player about to get knocked out in the first round . . .

alfablue

I share slight misgivings about some of the sponsors, but as said before, without them the games would cost the taxpayer a lot more. On the other hand, brands like MacDonalds already have billions of kids as a customer base, so maybe there is a worthwhile element of selling sport to Macdonald's customers to accompany the selling of burgers to sports fans.

One thing to bear in mind is that the "Worldwide Partners" (which are Visa, Dow, MacDonalds, Samsung, Acer, CocaCola, GE, Omega, P&G, AtoS and Panasonic) were not selected by LOCOG, they already have arrangements with the IOC and are in place regardless of local sponsorship decisions.

Another thing to bear in mind is that Olympic brand protection is a requirement of the games contract with London 2012, so again it is an IOC requirement, not just LOCOG making things up.

verylonglegs

laurentian wrote:

Anyone watching the Champions League Final on Saturday will see adverts for Ford cars and no other cars, Mastercard and no other credit cards. Sponsorship is necessary to fund events of this magnitude and sponsors earn a degree of exclusivity (and yes, tickets) for their investment without which the games could not happen and we really would be left with a herd of white elephants.

Disagree with that entirely, of course they could happen without sponsors, the European Cup competition and the Olympics existed long before coporate sponsorship.

Peddle Up!

I tend to agree. It's the insidious commercialisation of every aspect of our lives I hate. How long until the first McDonald's hospital/school/road? :evil:

GiantMike

With all sport there is a massive administrative burden for a relatively small event. People expect a massive sporting event with loads of glitz and glamour, purpose-built facilities and as a result, corporates want to get involved. The IOC runs all day, every day. This must cost a large fortune.

I'd prefer the London Olympics to be the 'Austerity Games', using facilities already in the UK. We had suitable pools, athletics stadia, velodromes, MTB courses, horsey facilities, etc before we bid for the games. Shame w're not really using them and that we feel the need (or the IOC mandate) to build it all from scratch.

Has anybody else noticed how enthused and sporty everybody in the UK is since we won the Olympic bid? Part of the Olympic legacy was the FACT that more Brits would take up sport. Lancashire is now full of sporty athletic fitsters, running, cycling and swimming at every opportunity. I can remember the last time I saw a fatty shoving fish and chips into his fat lardy face. Oh hang on, I might have that the wrong way round....

Pross

HonestAl wrote:

Shame so many people are unhappy about the whole thing.

Fates willing my kid will be one of the athletes representing GB. I'm quite proud.

What sport? You've got every right to be proud!

laurentian

verylonglegs wrote:

laurentian wrote:

Anyone watching the Champions League Final on Saturday will see adverts for Ford cars and no other cars, Mastercard and no other credit cards. Sponsorship is necessary to fund events of this magnitude and sponsors earn a degree of exclusivity (and yes, tickets) for their investment without which the games could not happen and we really would be left with a herd of white elephants.

Disagree with that entirely, of course they could happen without sponsors, the European Cup competition and the Olympics existed long before coporate sponsorship.

Yes, they could exist without sponsors . . . and be paid for by the country! The modern model for why this hasn't been done for a while is the financial catastrophe that was Montreal in 1976.

Sponsorship to a greater or lesser extent has been at the Games for years - how else did amateur athletes afford to compete? I believe that the LA games in 1984 (nearly 3 decades ago) were almost entirely funded by private sponsorship (although I doubt the previous 1980 Moscow ones were).

Ditto the champions league but, as a fan of football, the sponsorship allied with the TV companies means that I can watch some of the worlds greatest footballers performing (or not) over the whole competition and not just the semi-final and final IF a UK team is in it as was the case with the old European Cup.

Regardless of the above, the point I was trying to make is that Sponsorship in sport, and the "exclusivity" earned by the companies doing the sponsoring is not exclusive to London 2012, or the Olympics in general

Jonny Fortnight

Peddle Up! wrote:

I tend to agree. It's the insidious commercialisation of every aspect of our lives I hate. How long until the first McDonald's hospital/school/road? :evil:

That ship has already sailed.

The Ronald McDonald House Charities is the complete opposite of the cr4p that they serve in their "restaurants." They provide an amazing and supportive service to parents with very poorly children. A home away from home.

I'd never even heard of it before a friend needed them.

Tom Dean

GiantMike wrote:

I'd prefer the London Olympics to be the 'Austerity Games', using facilities already in the UK. We had suitable pools, athletics stadia, velodromes, MTB courses, horsey facilities, etc before we bid for the games. Shame w're not really using them and that we feel the need (or the IOC mandate) to build it all from scratch.

In London?

GiantMike

Tom Dean wrote:

GiantMike wrote:

I'd prefer the London Olympics to be the 'Austerity Games', using facilities already in the UK. We had suitable pools, athletics stadia, velodromes, MTB courses, horsey facilities, etc before we bid for the games. Shame w're not really using them and that we feel the need (or the IOC mandate) to build it all from scratch.

In London?

Within an hour of London.

daviesee

GiantMike wrote:

Within an hour of London.

Now, now.
This is the London Olympic Games.
Not the British Olympic Games.*
Or even the English Olympic Games.*

It is for London to serve London. The local Games for the local people


* I am aware of the crumbs thrown out to the principalities to keep them quiet.

Monty Dog

GiantMike wrote:

Lancashire is now full of sporty athletic fitsters, running, cycling and swimming at every opportunity. I can remember the last time I saw a fatty shoving fish and chips into his fat lardy face. Oh hang on, I might have that the wrong way round....

:shock: I didn't realise that all that regeneration money they've spent in Blackpool has had such a dramatic effect - where else can you see a fat slag giving a BJ to a naked bloke tied to a lampost on a Saturday afternoon? (true dat)

Frank the tank

daviesee wrote:

GiantMike wrote:

Within an hour of London.

Now, now.
This is the London Olympic Games.
Not the British Olympic Games.*
Or even the English Olympic Games.*

It is for London to serve London. The local Games for the local people


* I am aware of the crumbs thrown out to the principalities to keep them quiet.

Owd on a minute, if you're very fortunate the olympic torch may pass within a bus ride of where you live. Surely what more can you want to make you feel included in this fine sporting festival? Tickets for an actual event,PAH!

Tom Dean

GiantMike wrote:

Within an hour of London.

Go on then, which Olympic pool, indoor velodrome and large athletics stadium are you talking about?

BelgianBeerGeek

Olympics schmolympics. Load of old cobblers.
Just think...if Paris had "won" the games you could have popped over on a cheap flight, train etc, seen some running or jumping etc and had a McDonalds on the Champs Elysses to boot. What a day out. And you would probably still have had about the same chance of getting a ticket.
But it's London! Tickets are mainly for the excutive (deputy) sales manager for McDonalds (or whatever sponsor it is, and who cares) Eastern Europe (Poland & Ukraine) + guests. Doff your caps to the black limos, and know your place.
We had to pass a law to allow the IOC and its corporate schmoozers and hangers on to do all this.
Makes me proud to be British. Already booked my 4 weeks off work for the total snoozefest.
Can you tell I'm a fan?

GiantMike

Tom Dean wrote:

GiantMike wrote:

Within an hour of London.

Go on then, which Olympic pool, indoor velodrome and large athletics stadium are you talking about?

I never said INDOOR velodrome - it's the Austerity Olympics

Swimming Pool: Hillingdon Lido Splish Splash

Athletics Stadium: Crystal Palace Hop Skip Jump

Failing that, what facilities do you really need?

To throw a javelin? A bit of grass? Black Heath? (same for all field events)
MTB race? Epping Forest?
100m sprint? Local school playing field, like kids run on?
Weight lifting? YMCA gym?
Wrestling? School hall?

Just needs a bit of imagination.

daviesee

Frank the tank wrote:

Owd on a minute, if you're very fortunate the olympic torch may pass within a bus ride of where you live. Surely what more can you want to make you feel included in this fine sporting festival? Tickets for an actual event,PAH!

It actually passes the end of my street but.....meh.

My previous post was only meant be an attempt at League of Gentlemen humour though.

Aggieboy

GiantMike wrote:

Tom Dean wrote:

GiantMike wrote:

Within an hour of London.

Go on then, which Olympic pool, indoor velodrome and large athletics stadium are you talking about?

I never said INDOOR velodrome - it's the Austerity Olympics

Swimming Pool: Hillingdon Lido Splish Splash

Athletics Stadium: Crystal Palace Hop Skip Jump

Failing that, what facilities do you really need?

To throw a javelin? A bit of grass? Black Heath? (same for all field events)
MTB race? Epping Forest?
100m sprint? Local school playing field, like kids run on?
Weight lifting? YMCA gym?
Wrestling? School hall?

Just needs a bit of imagination.

There weren't enough seats at Hillingdon for a normal gala when my daughter swam for them - an Olympic venue?

rick_chasey

Any quotes from Dutch or German swimmers you read will have been translated by my sister .

GiantMike

Aggieboy wrote:

AusterityMike wrote:

Swimming Pool: Hillingdon Lido Splish Splash

Just needs a bit of imagination.

There weren't enough seats at Hillingdon for a normal gala when my daughter swam for them - an Olympic venue?

Yes Aggie, but if your daughter's gala was televised, would you have bothered to go?

0.01%* of all spectators watch the games at the venue, the rest watch it on TV. Choosing Hillingdon would reduce this to 0.001%* (i.e. less than a tenth of a percentage point change, and saving literally Billions of pounds** on the cost of building the Aquatics centre).

If the athletes complain about the facilities, they don't have to come. If enough prima-donna athletes drop out I could be the Olympic 100m Breast Stroke Champion.

And while we're at it, winning athlete's should get vouchers for Top Shop or Argos equal to the value of the Gold, Silver or Bronze in their medal, instead of an actual medal. That way they have to spend the money in the UK, increasing UK GDP and dragging us out of recession. To reduce the cost of accommodation, Victoria Pendleton can stay round at my place.

* unvalidated figure, probably wrong
** unvalidated figure, totally wrong