So, why are there empty seats at Olympics venues?

[free spirit]

only 26,000 at St James park yesterday, and that's after they've apparently been dishing the tickets out for free all over newcastle for the last week.

The entire top tier wasn't even open and they still couldn't fill the rest of it. I reckon the problem is compounded by them dry hiring the venues, so the club has no incentive at all to help them to fill the place. NUFC could have sold those tickets several times over if they had some incentive to do so, but presumably LOCOG thought they knew best and would get the best return from dry hiring the venue and keeping all the ticket income for themselves. I can virtually guarantee that they've lost serious money on those matches despite having no wages to pay for the players.

 

[Badgers]

?

I heard they were gonna bring in a Wimbledon system. Ie, if the seat's empty for half an hour they go on sale at the gate.

Gonna bring in does not mean you can just turn up today.

 

[weltweit]

Seriously, look at this.. it's probably about 30-40% full. And tickets 'sold out' in minutes of going on sales months ago.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/2012/live-video/p00w2wsx
cunts.

I just took a look at this and yes there are loads of seats empty and guess what, Seb Coe is in one of the taken seats sitting with a royal party. He should be able to see the empty seats from where he is sitting quite clearly.

That said, the path of the event is well stocked with people.

 

[weltweit]

That said, the path of the event is well stocked with people.

I expect the stands were full for the dressage which I expect took place there.

 

[Treacle Toes]

An example of why:

A good friend of mine got VIP tickets this week through a mate who works for Panasonic. Champayne, best seats, the lot. 40 people invited by panasonic, only 12 turned up. I imagine this is the case for many corporate tickets.

Plus media commissions not using the seats they have been allocated.

 

[The Boy]

Very few empty seats at the women's handball by the looks of it...

 

[1%er]

CNN say it is because corporate clients and sponsors are not filling them.

I heard on the radio that a new Bribery Act in the UK was making many companies rethink corporate hospitality and new guidance from many of the UK's biggest companies has meant that tickets are being returned. On the radio they were talking about the Wimbledon tennis as being an example of this, apparently they had many empty seats, although the organizers were filling the seats when they saw big gaps.

 

[Kanda]

I heard on the radio that a new Bribery Act in the UK was making many companies rethink corporate hospitality

Been in place since 2010.

 

[1%er]

Been in place since 2010.

That sounds about right, companies should have guidelines in place by now then.

Was it passed in 2010 or did it come into law in 2010? (There is often a delay).

 

[Kanda]

That sounds about right, companies should have guidelines in place by now then.

Was it passed in 2010 or did it come into law in 2010? (There is often a delay).

I've had to do Bribery Training every year for the last 10 years so god knows..

What you have to remember about Wimbledon though, is that major players like Barclays and I think RBS cancelled ALL their hospitality due to the scandals going on at the time, hence the empty seats.

 

[1%er]

What you have to remember about Wimbledon though, is that major players like Barclays and I think RBS cancelled ALL their hospitality due to the scandals going on at the time, hence the empty seats.

They didn't mention that on the radio

I heard many of the banks in the UK are in the shit over lots of stuff but I just kind of ignore all that nowadays as its big news for a while but no-one ever ends up in court over it, unless you are at the bottom of the food chain, like a trader.

 

[Treacle Toes]

Waffle, waffle, waffle: Locog's Jackie Brock-Doyle said organisers were doing everything they could to fill seats.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19048918

 

[Yelkcub]

I've had to do Bribery Training every year for the last 10 years so god knows..

.

Bribery training? My old man did that when I took over his business years ago:

Cliche or not cash handed over in a plain brown envelope could be anything and therefore proves nothing if you are photographed

Never discuss on the phone. Or in person with more than one person, so any accusation would one person's word against aother.

Is that the sort of thing Kanda?

 

[Kanda]

Is that the sort of thing Kanda?

hehe, no.

More corporate gifts/entertaining etc..

 

[Kid_Eternity]

CNN say it is because corporate clients and sponsors are not filling them.

I heard on the radio that a new Bribery Act in the UK was making many companies rethink corporate hospitality and new guidance from many of the UK's biggest companies has meant that tickets are being returned. On the radio they were talking about the Wimbledon tennis as being an example of this, apparently they had many empty seats, although the organizers were filling the seats when they saw big gaps.

Yup the link I posted above somewhere detailed this.

 

[1%er]

Never discuss on the phone. Or in person with more than one person, so any accusation would one person's word against aother.

I take it that you are not a criminal

 

[Lord Camomile]

Very few empty seats at the women's handball by the looks of it...

Dammit, why the fuck does everyone want to go to the handball?! Thousands of empty seats at the horsies and footy, but no, everyone wants to see what I want to see.

Being a man of the people sure does suck sometimes

 

[The Boy]

Tbh I was pretty surprised. Though I was the only person in the country who had even heard of Handball....

 

[weltweit]

Tbh I was pretty surprised. Though I was the only person in the country who had even heard of Handball....

Is handball different from beach volleyball?

 

[paolo]

A load of seats are blocked for 'Olympic family', but as they get seats to all the events it's not really much of a surprise that they don't show up for the heats, same shit happened in Beijing iirc.

Yep, that's been my take on it. It's the national sports bodies and the like.

So there's no individual who will lose anything by not showing up. And the major sponsors are also distancing themselves, and although that deserves healthy scepticism, LOCOG have yet (afaik) to point the finger in that particular direction.

Some of the bodies are apparently coughing up tickets back to LOCOG. How many as a percentage of likely no-shows I'm not sure.

I hope that LOCOG can threaten name-and-shame for the worst offenders, but - knowing Olympic politics - I'm guessing they won't. The allocation is an IOC stipulation, so there will no doubt be pressure 'from above' not to air too much dirty laundry.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Olympic tickets to go back on sale

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ol...sale-to-end-embarrassment-of-empty-seats.html

 

[Lord Camomile]

That's good news, but how will we know when/what's gone on sale? Is it just a case of continually checking the ticketing website?

It is like Glasto all over again...

 

[Pickman's model]

That's good news, but how will we know when/what's gone on sale? Is it just a case of continually checking the ticketing website?

It is like Glasto all over again...

sadly no.

glasto is over after a couple of days but we've fucking two weeks of this shit to put up with.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Aye, fair point.

At least there's no danger of U2 playing.

Oh wait, the closing ceremony...

 

[Hollis]

That's good news, but how will we know when/what's gone on sale? Is it just a case of continually checking the ticketing website?

It is like Glasto all over again...

Ticket sales exactly like Glastonbury - twice I've got through to allocated tickets, only for the payment to fail..