Posted on 06/25/2004 5:51:00 PM PDT by blam
Ticket sales flop adds to Olympic miseries in Athens
By Harry de Quetteville in Athens
(Filed: 26/06/2004)
Ticket prices for events at the Athens Olympic Games will not be cut even though only a third of seats have been sold 50 days before the opening ceremony, the organisers said in Athens yesterday.
Athens has long faced criticism for construction delays and the prospect that some venues might not be finished on time.
Work goes on at main Olympic stadium in Athens
But now that the stadia are finally almost ready, the Greek organising committee - known as Athoc - faces the humiliation that many of them might be largely empty.
There are 5.3 million tickets for the Games, of which just over 1.9 million have been sold. At Sydney four years ago, well over half its 7.6 million tickets had been sold at a similar stage.
Much of the blame for the disappointing sales has been attributed to sponsors, which have taken up a distinctly underwhelming 900,000 of the 2.3 million tickets they were offered.
The disastrous sales have been compounded by international visitors staying away and the tendency of Greeks to do many things, including buying tickets, at the last minute.
Fears over terrorism and the negative publicity Athens has received for its often shambolic preparations have hit visitor numbers to Greece and the country may be the first Olympic host where the Games actually have a negative effect on tourism.
Organisers are now relying on locals belatedly getting into the Olympic spirit and snapping up tickets in the days before the Games and once they are under way. While venues are being hurriedly finished, Greece has embarked on a new building rush, finally deciding to construct a lift to the Acropolis for wheelchair users.
The plan has been bubbling away for more than a year but only now, with less than two months to go, have Greece's archaeological watchdogs approved the project.
Culture ministry officials say the lift, ascending the north face of the site which lies almost 100 yards above the city, will be ready in time for the Olympics. An initial plan to drill a lift shaft through the eastern face of the Acropolis has been abandoned.
The venture comes as Greece passed a tough new anti-terror law, reinforcing pre-Games security - another issue on which it has faced close scrutiny. The law sets heavy mandatory penalties for those involved in terrorism or financing terrorism and allows for the extradition of terrorism suspects outside Greece, even if the suspects are Greek nationals.
Meanwhile Greek doctors went on strike yesterday, the latest in a rash of industrial action by workers claiming special bonuses for being forced to remain on duty during the Olympics.
Many essential staff across Greece will have to take their holidays before or after the Games and work longer hours but, while 70,000 security staff have been promised an £1,800 Olympic bonus, spiralling costs mean others will only receive standard overtime payments.
The Greeks don't want no freaks
>>You could not pay me enough to go there and deal with the anti-american crowds<<
*DING DING DING DING* On the nose! What country has the largest population with enough disposable income to afford a trip to another country. Why, the USA! And Greece hasn't exactly gone out of its way to lower its anti-American tone. And their citizenry are clearly as self-absorbed as the French.
Better to stay at home and laugh at how much money they lose. Also, we don't have any particularly good individuals or teams. This is the 1st year I predict that the USA will not win in Basketball. The doping scandal pretty much has ruined track and field. The gymnasts are so-so. Most of the other events aren't "sports."
They buttered their bread, they can sleep in it!
So, it is not that additional tickets won't be sold, it's just that the kerrorists are going to have to buy their own.
The are still debating at kerrorist HQ whether there will be trouble at the actual Olympics. One group, including Kerry, believes that trouble would so upset the yachting and polo seasons that it would work in his favor as it did in Spain. The other segment wants to order the kerrorists to cool it in Athens for fear that it would swing support to the war time leader. But, never fear, the kerrorists will buy tickets.
BTTT
After reading John Gibson's book on "Hating America," I don't think I ever want to travel anywhere outside the US.
Michael Phelps = Mark Spitz
There were plenty of empty seats for some of the events in Atlanta. I took pictures showing the many available seats in the Omni. I didn't find the Georgia Dome crowded, and I saw thousands of empty seats at Atlanta Stadium.
When it comes to this kind of thing, I'm Joe Six-pack. And, no offense, I have never heard of Phelps. I do remember hearing of Mark Spitz before his famous Olympic run.
In general, the USA doesn't dominate Olympic Sports like it used to. Part of it is that the great atheletes are all pros in some sports like Basketball, baseball, soccer and they don't want to risk their health in non-personal-revenue producing things like the Olympic sports.
Hey, I managed seats for Team Handball at Cal State Fullerton. That was all that was left!
Are there really still tickets available for the rhythmic gymnastics?!?
I got Boxing, Track and Feild (with Carl Lewis) but I was at the TIX Stand at Fashion Island at 3am, so 6 hours of waiting.
"You tell 'em, honey."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.