Some Seats Go Empty at Olympics

[Hum]

Olympics venues are "stuffed to the gunnels" with sports fans, London 2012 chairman Lord Coe has insisted after hundreds of seats were left empty on Saturday and Sunday morning.

Events affected included swimming, rowing, tennis and basketball.

"I don't think you will be seeing this as an issue, long-term through the Games," he said.

Lord Coe spoke out as the row mounted over unfilled seats in several Olympic venues.

At some venues, seats in the accredited "Olympic family" areas - reserved for groups including officials, sports federations, athletes, journalists and sponsors - have remained unfilled.

Empty seats "in the very earliest phases" of the Olympics were part of "the nature of that accredited area", Lord Coe told a press conference.

"[The ticket-holders] are trying to figure out how they're going to divide their time, what their responsibilities are, and how and when they get dragged to any number of venues," he said.

Organisers would fill some of the empty seats with servicemen and women, as well as local students and teachers, he added.

And they would sell more tickets - as they did with about 1,000 tickets on the London 2012 website on Saturday night.

He said a system had been introduced similar to the one used at Wimbledon, where people coming out of the stadium handed on their tickets so the seats could be made available to others.

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[drazgoosh]

I really wanted basketball tickets and didn't get any. Now I'm watching the games and they all have at least 10 empty seats. Even USA vs France right now...

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

It was the same when Sydney hosted the Olympics here. Many venues were left empty. I think the Olympics has gradually lost its appeal over time, the same countries always clock up the medals and there always seems to be the same people winning them. I myself only watch the opening and closing ceromonies now, and watch the Hockey in the Winter Olympics. Nothing else interests me. :\

[Hum]

If seats are empty, they should allow people to come in for free. :laugh:

[123456789A]

I guess filling seats wasn't really a problem in Beijing.

[Chasethebase Reporter]

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