http://www.guardian.co.tt/olympics/2012-08-04/ticketsticketsanyoneTickets...tickets...anyone?
Published: Saturday, August 4, 2012
Andre BaptisteTickets, tickets and more tickets. Who would have guessed that tickets would become the talk of the London Olympics from day one to now? We can safely say that the problem with the tickets for these Olympics is not about price, but rather about availability. What is perhaps rather surprising is that the British, the very same people who questioned World Cup tickets in Germany, 2006, being sold in T&T cannot solve a similar situation in London. That puts a different perspective on the saying—Pot calling the Kettle Black. Anyway, all of this ticketing mayhem left a sour taste, especially among many in the Caribbean, when the news broke that several of the under utilized tickets had belonged to National Olympic Committees. It became even worse when it was revealed in several investigative reports that some of the NOC’s from around the world were selling those tickets, which were intended to be distributed in their countries as part of the International Olympic Committee quota .
This has caused several to look at the Caribbean region and ask questions: What happens with tickets given to T&T, Jamaica, Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Guyana, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, etc.? And while most, if not all of the Caribbean region will hastily deny any such miscreant behaviour, and there is no evidence to say otherwise, in terms of the region being involved in this dastardly deed of selling back free tickets (tickets marked not for resale), there must be questions that need answers about the allocation of such tickets by the IOC to the Caribbean region. Are we treated fairly ? And what is the proportion of tickets given to the other regions of the World? And, very importantly, who decides which Caribbean island gets the most or the least tickets? And please, if someone tells me that all of the Caribbean region gets the same number of tickets, then I would respectfully ask for information on how it is distributed. The same way we attacked others over the FIFA ticketing scandal in the past, I would hope in the coming weeks to watch the same diligence and investigation done by all, including several of those pious British journalists, with the naming of these offending NOCs, not only made public, but also some sanction taken. Anyway, back to the question of tickets. If there is anyone who has made money from these games apart from the food outlets at the Olympic Mall in Westfield, it is the British Transport division, given the amount of tickets sold especially on the Express Service to Olympic Park - called the Olympic Javellin.
So following on from all of this, I decided to tick what has been good and to tick off what has been bad so far in this London Olympics. In terms of good, we can certainly count the weather, the mood in the T&T camp and the Chef De Mission Annette Knott, who has been particularly pleasant and honest. The presence of Margaret Ottley as the sports psychologist is a wonderful step in the right direction. The tick off points are led by the insurmountable, poor tasting british meals which has not changed very much since my last visit 20 years ago. Another obstacle has been the fact that prices (tickets apart) for most items in London are exorbitantly high.
It is a good thing that those closest to me are not expecting much souvenirs or gifts. Also, a little bit dodgy is some of the Chinese food on offer, and as I only eat fish, it becomes even more difficult in London, which seems to know only one way to do fish, which is fried. I am beginning to wonder if all of this tickets talk in London will lead to a positive change, and I am also wondering how all of these anti touting laws for the Olympics would work in T&T, where Touting is par for the course at mist ticketed events. This sort of implementation would need strong enforcement rules and given our lack of discipline, that might be hard to find. However in conclusion on a ticketing note, it is important for all our local television stations to realise just how important Sport is as the BBC have placed their three channels on full time sports coverage as well as online. This sort of dedication to sports is something that we could only wish for in T&T.
