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Mayor of London Boris Johnson said today that when London stages the Summer Games in 2012 we must avoid having empty seats in our stadiums and other venues that deny many the opportunity to see the worlds greatest athletes performing at the worlds greatest sporting event. Speaking on the third day of his trip to the Beijing Games he said: 'Whilst I have witnessed some fantastic sport over the last couple of days I could not help but notice a significant number of empty seats. We must avoid that in London. It's a waste. The chance to watch the world's greatest athletes performing at their very best is a real privilege. They have a right to expect a capacity crowd. So I am determined that the good people of London - who are paying extra for these games - have their fair opportunity to witness the action. I am particularly keen to ensure our school kids experience this spectacle. We will be working on a whole range of ideas to achieve this. I want to see us emulate the scheme that was so successful in Sydney where thousands of young people were invited into the Olympic Park and then given the chance wherever possible to see events where there were empty seats. I also want to see corporate sponsors ensure their tickets are used and any unwanted tickets are passed on for others to use using the same system that works well each year at Wimbledon. And we will want to see ticketing systems that mean corporate sponsors have to provide assurance their tickets will be used or else reallocated'. www.london.gov.uk |
