Sunday 29 July 2012

Horseguards Parade, here I come


With thousands of people being refused tickets to the London Olympics, it now turns out that there are dozens of empty seats for a lot of the games which have already taken place.

Don't get me wrong - I have not ever whinged about the games themselves (honest), it is the way that they have been hi-jacked by massive and greedy corporations who have sold their sponsorship for the sake of the saturated advertising that really riled me.  It is beginning to look as though many of the tickets allocated to them in return for sponsorship have been given to other people or organisations who really couldn't give a damn about the games, so are simply not bothering to turn up for anything other than the prestigious events.

The cost of the whole thing varies according to which figures you believe, but ranges between about £2.5 billion to £24 billion, which is quite a lot to spend on what will end up being some quite nice, affordable housing for people in east London - hopefully.

I really think that the £27 million that was spent on the opening ceremony was worth it (although I still haven't seen it), because it looked like a bloody good party, and everyone likes parties - even showcase ones.

I suppose what I am saying is that I wish the athletes all the best, but hope that they allow some of the British supporters the opportunity of urging them on at all the events.  It must be very dispiriting to be faced with rows of empty seats when you are doing your best to win a gold medal for your country.

I am not overly keen on sport in general, but I might wander down to Horseguards Parade to watch a bit of beach-volleyball.  I fancy the Brazilians....

6 comments:

  1. I've noticed a lot of empty spots during the coverage except for the men's road race... But that was free I suppose!
    The opening ceremony was very good. It made me want to be British. The big joke was that we all thought Beckham would kick a flaming football into the cauldron to light it. Enjoy the beach volley ball Tom. x

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    1. Beckham kicking the flaming ball would have been even more dangerous than letting him drive a speedboat under the bridges at 60 MPH. - What a good idea!

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  2. I wonder why they're begin so tight with the tickets? Like brismod, I've seen a lot of empty seats in those stadiums.

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  3. You are obviously on the same wavelength as Prince Harry Tom!! Beach Volley Ball is top of his list as well. I can't think why !!!!
    I'm so pleased that they didn't let David Beckham light the cauldron....... It was beginning to look like the David Beckham Show. There were people far more worthy & it was such a great twist when they gave that privilege to the 7 young, up and coming athletes.
    You get these corporate blocks of empty seats at nearly all prestigious events. They either haven't turned up or they are still having a four hour liquid lunch!

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  4. I once had a pair of tickets for a Wimbledon Men's final, but couldn't go.... it happens to the best of us.

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  5. We got some great tickets to a hockey game and were sat in the midst of blocks of corporate ticketholders. None watched the game, but all chatted throughout. I was thoroughly disgusted. If you want to conduct business, go conduct business. For those of us who want to watch hockey, give us the seats!

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