The 2012 Olympic Ceremony in London began Friday with a spectacular and unforgettable show — then the games followed with a bit of a fizzle.
The competitions themselves have been exciting, but the seats to watch the games have been — well — empty. Huge arenas were so empty that Olympic organizers took to offering free tickets to British soldiers and schoolchildren in hopes of filling the vacant rows.
London residents were furious when television footage showed empty seats at some of the most popular sporting events, including swimming and gymnastics. The Brits wanted to buy tickets and to attend the games, but they were told many games were sold out. So what exactly has been the problem?
Corporate sponsors were given blocks and blocks of free seats — except they haven’t been using them. So, although all of the tickets were distributed, most of the corporations were failing to show up to the games, creating some rather bad and embarrassing television moments. Athletes were competing to mostly empty audiences, leaving the public on the outside looking in.
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the minister responsible for the Olympics, said Saturday that the organizing committee was “doing a full investigation into what happened.” He added that if corporate sponsors were “not going to turn up, we want those tickets to be available for members of the public, because that creates the best atmosphere.”
