Getting annoyed by empty seats at Olympics

[Nevercan]

Have watched the swimming and gymnastics tonight and there are loads of empty seats at the front and I couldn't get tickets - how annoying and such a shame as they are good seats..... Pity they can't sell them again last minute don't you think?

Vom at "Olympic Family"

DontEatTheVolesKids - 'Olympic Family' refers to various VIPs associated with the Olympics, not to the families of competitors.

I can well imagine there are fucking thousands of the undeserving hangers on lots of people in that group.

I also wonder what effect the allocation process had on the situation?

I know a few people who applied for various tickets simply because they didn't think they'd get the ones they really wanted and then wondered what to do with the ones they were allocated because they eventually got some more in the second round.

Last week 2 different colleagues offered me tickets for free that they had bought and didn't really want; one a pair for badminton and another a pair of tickets to an athletics event.

If they didn't find someone to give them to they probably won't have been used as when you're a few hundred miles north of London the cost of the ticket itself is quite insignificant compared to the other costs involved.

Ah, thanks for correction; I definitely got a very different impression from radio description of who Olympic Family was. They implied it was just athletes & their immediate support network, basically.
So Olympic Family is sponsors after all!

Back in 1984 my dad got tickets for events that he just threw in the garbage, more tickets than he had time to use, too. But it wasn't as easy back then to resell them thru official channels.

BTW, I'd like to stress that that is the term I was vomming at: sponsors, not competitors' families!

In Greenwich today, in blocks I estimated around 600 empty seats which is a bloody disgrace.

Same debate on my FB @ the mo but this made roll my eyes:

MJ :It annoys me to hear of people who applied for tickets, only to be told they were sold out - and this is what we see....half empty stadiums.

She then followed it with this

MJ:I won 2 tickets for the paralympics....one game of 5-a-side football, lasting 50 mins. I cannot use them, as it would cost a fortune to get down there. I feel really guilty about not being able to go and support the teams.

Why buy the tickets if you can't use them? She must have known the travel costs involved?

Its not all sponsors that aren't turning up:

BASKETBALL
Some large chunks of empty seats even at United States v France at the Basketball Arena, one of the top draws. Organisers reacted by using one block as a press box overspill, while some troops were invited in to take up more empty seats.
WATER POLO
Very few empty seats for the morning and afternoon sessions at the Water Polo Arena, but the section for the Olympic Family was half-empty for the morning sessions.
BOXING
The boxing venue at ExCel, in terms of buyable tickets, was almost completely full.
TENNIS
The blocks of seats at Wimbledon reserved for those with accreditation showed the biggest gaps. The majority of the other seats were full, particularly the cheaper ones towards the back of the stands.
VOLLEYBALL
Great Britain's men started in front of a largely full house at Earls Court, although pockets of seats were left vacant. There were also unused seats in the delegation and media areas.
BADMINTON
Wembley Arena, which has a capacity of 4,800 for the Games, has been officially sold out for the badminton. The hall has been close to full for the sessions held so far, with three rows unoccupied due to restricted view.
FOOTBALL
More than 65,000 were expected for the men's football at Old Trafford although many did not turn up for the first match (New Zealand v Egypt), but it filled up for Brazil v Belarus.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Decent attendances over the first two days of competition at ExCeL for a relatively low-demand event, with the arena approximately 80% full with Great British lifters still yet to compete.
EQUESTRIAN
Some empty seats in the arena at Greenwich Park but equestrian manager Tim Hadaway said that crowds often moved throughout the venue during the day, meaning some seats may be left empty at times - spectators can walk around the cross country course.
FENCING
Almost packed at ExCeL today. On Saturday it started with quite a few empty seats, but filled up as the day went on.
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
The venue at Horse Guards Parade is averaging two-thirds full according to official attendances - the capacity is 15,000.
HOCKEY
Close to capacity for today's morning matches at the Riverbank Arena.
JUDO
There were only a handful of empty seats at the ExCeL.
HANDBALL
The morning session at the handball was virtually full at the Copper Box.
GYMNASTICS
Fewer empty seats today than yesterday - an estimated 1,000 were empty in the first session yesterday when the GB men were qualifying. Around 100 seats were given over to soldiers today at the North Greenwich Arena.
SHOOTING
Packed out for all sessions at the Royal Artillery Barracks.
ARCHERY
Reports of around 100 vacant seats in the two grandstands - which were sold out. The venue manager at Lord's said none of those were for sponsors or Olympic family as they are all housed in the pavilion.
TABLE TENNIS
The ExCeL Arena was around four-fifths full when the table tennis got under way at 9am and the rest of the seats filled up during the afternoon although it was never at capacity.

I agree that the big corporates who have been allocated these tickets and then not used them should be named and shamed....not that any shame will probably be felt!! Surely if the big-wigs in the company were not interested or bothered to attend then these businesses are large enough to filter the tickets down the company? Maybe do a large draw and give the everyday workers the opportunity to acquire a pair of tickets for example. Or donate them into the wider community? Anything rather than them being wasted? Although it seems the greed of these corporates means that they'd rather bin the things than give them away.....

slams head< it isn't always the corporates. Its the Media - they have row upon row of empty seats, it's the general public turning up late, sometimes it is the sponsors.

Have no fear - the army's here!
After using troops to fill the security vacancies, they are now going to be used to fill empty seats, according to Lord Coe.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2180579/Olympics-2012-Lord-Coe-announces-plans-seats-venues-soldiers-teachers-students.html

We applied for loads of tickets and only got football Tuesday night (semi final) old Trafford and handball Wednesday morning (London)
We live in Cheshire and I'm trying to talk my dp into taking a mate instead of me to the footy as I'll an early night
The way the tickets were allocated was awful.

There is another thread on this but as other posters say they 'belong' to the sponsors of the Games and the backers of Cameron/Milliband/Coe etc. These people won't be named because there is no point. Same for all 'big' events as Thaleia points out. The rich and powerful will always get in and we don't matter, the ordinary public is actually a nuisance to the organisers.

DH is Military working the games and he has been told categorically 'YOU WILL NOT SEE ANY EVENTS!' Crazy.

Easy solution to empty seats? half an hour before the event, if the venue is empty a tannoy could go out, 'Event X, at venue X has some empty seats, any off duty service personnel wishing to view event X should report to Venue X by such and such hours and will be admitted on showing valid service ID'

Bums on seats look good on the telly and the Service Personnel get some sort of thanks. Win/win!

Ginger wrath, can you pass your thanks on to your dh please. The military did us absolutely proud today at Greenwich, real ambassadors for the country. Polite, efficient, friendly and helpful.

OhYou, thank you, will definitely pass it on, will be much appreciated by the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen giving up their summer leave to do this!

And whenever any one told them that they were so gracious and each replied with a variation on the theme of 'just doing my job' which I thought was very nice of them when I'm sure that almost all would rather be with their family taking a very very earned rest.

I just saw a great game of football Team GB at Wembley. I was very surprised to be sitting next to a bank of 100+ empty seats. This for a match which was apparently sold out!

If there was a like button on here, OhYou I'd be using it. They are very much a case of 'this is what the bosses have told me to do so I will get on with it', they aren't allowed to strike so just make the best of it. DH managed to phone on DD's birthday so we will be grateful for that!

Ginger, that's really rotten, I'm glad he got to call but I'm sorry that he couldn't be there.

Another grateful spectator here! The military men and women at Excel were friendly and funny and, well, just lovely.

Do we know that the tickets allocated to other countries were sold out? If not, maybe those are some of the empty seats. Are travel companies handing back unsold tickets? There were loads of empty table tennis seats on Saturday.

They are human like everyone else, they are sleeping in ware houses on camp cots. My DH is a 40 something university level management type guy and he is basically searching vehicles, but he will do it with a smile! Sounds corny, but if you can, say thank you to one of our Armed Forces tomorrow, it'll make their day!

It's bloody corporate sponsors - and the people who they gave the tickets to are quaffing cyanides in the hospitality tents!

It's a disgusting waste

I was at the badminton today at wembley arena. There were hundreds of empty seats with all the best views. Far too many seats have been allocated to "accredited" people. Its not good enough.