Letter to an Olympic Writer

I posted the following comment on Emma Abson's blog. 

Hi Emma - I like your post, and your blog. I take your point about seating and think your argument - though difficult to support due to absence of data from LOGOG or anywhere - is sound. I've written about this problem as did much of the media way back in 2008 - it's a "no-brainer" to think it would be fixed right then and there - talk about waiting 4 years to 2012 and have EXACTLY the same thing happen again. LOCOG has to be held to account for such a cock-up, just on the basis of public funding/underwriting, etc.  As I've discussed on my own blog for the past few weeks (and obviously "seating" and tickets are 2 sides to the same coin), there is a perception of the Games which needs managing. Since 2008, we've had scandals in public life about the way public figures spend our money. This Olympics has risked falling into the appearance of being "The People's Games" funded by the people, FOR the bureaucrats and business fat-cats you seem to regard as just a necessary part of putting the whole show on. I just find the whole scene smells funny - but no more than I'd expect from LOGOG or the coalition. Appreciate your optimism, though - I need that too. Keep on with the blog, it's much needed. Charles.

Olympics 2012: Bad Planning

BBC Kent's Polly Evans - MUCH better looking than Danny Boyle

It's just bad planning. Reports today that the opening ceremony of the London Olympics has been cut by quite a few minutes to allow 80,000 people the chance to leave and return home via public transport is just ridiculous.

To think that 4+ years planning and the artfulness of Danny Boyle - the film director "tasked" with designing the opening- didn't somehow allow for enough time for people is ludicrous.

However, it is a complete relief to note that it's the lame-o BMX show-off event that's been cut.

What do you think? Do you?

Olympic 2012: Tickets

Do you remember Beijing 2008 and the massive amounts of vacant seats in stadia at events? Exactly.

I've been writing about the Olympic Games for the 5 years in the run-up to London 2012. The fact that the atmosphere at many 2008 sporting events was apparently ruined by large gaps in attendance was written about by the press, analysed and discussed by me and forgotten by everybody else.

Well now we're seeing a wonderful sleight of hand being played out in the media as it's been revealed at the last minute that there's loads of tickets left.

It seems you'll need a couple of grand to buy the tickets (BBC News), which are on sale on the website.

I'd be asking what all that shite was about when the "get your tickets now or be a total, unpatriotic loser" campaign was on? Lord Coe seems quite happy with the whole, rather questionable, sales strategy. There was a "you'll be crying tears the size of winter cabbages - too late too late will be the cry, when the man with the bargains has passed you by" kind of banter as he did his sales pitch to the world.

Now the demand has been strangled due to earlier purchase, the highest rates can be charged to those who really need these tickets. Just like your airline.

Yield management at its best.

Olympic 2012 Security

Following on from my previous post about the Olympic Press, we now come to the furore concerning G4 Security's handling of Olympic Security.

There's really 2 aspects to this - G4's actions and reactions to what can only be described as their own mismanagement of the situation - and secondly everybody else's reaction to it.

G4's actions constitute project mismanagement. The excuses being given by their CEO are rudimentary at best:

-recruiting for the Olympics is very complicated

- students aren't available for training as security officers until the end of the academic year

- people who were thought to be excellent candidates to stand around in train stations and car parks in return for money, actually would prefer to forgo the likely peanut-level remuneration being offered and be part of the Games by watching them instead of working at them.

All of these arguments were made long ago by the LOCOG London planners of the Games, when they were "tasked" with planning the volunteering strategy for the recruitment of 75,000 volunteers, which started well over 4 years ago.

Whilst G4 only need to recruit 10,000 paid recruits, they seem to have not planned properly, started with too little too late, not built in contingencies and also left their admission of a total, operational cock-up to the last minute.

I'm going to carry on for a while with this story - just because we've yet to consider the actions and reactions of G4's competitors, their employers (the government, and indirectly the tax-payer) and, of course, our good friends the journalists.

What do you think about all this?

Olympic 2012 Press

There's been a storm in the press lately about the shenanigans related to G4 Security's handling of their 2012 Olympic Games contract.

They seem to have basically "cocked it up" as the technical, project management terminology goes.

This is a classic case of project mismanagement. I've written quite a lot about The Olympic Games in the run-up to these Games - I've also wirtten much about Olympic staffing and project management in general. Frankly, I'm "Olympic'd-out" and would quite happily not even switch on my TV for the next month or so until the whole fiasco's died down.

I'm not completely adverse to Brits feeling better about their country - as long that feelgood is based on the truth of real achievement, rather than government, IOC, LOCOG, or commercial sponsor spin.

What never ceases to amaze me is the ethic-free, and gutless way the UK press wades into a fray they start, spin, counterspin and finish, fuck-up and move on, everytime. I've written about this before - and it's not just a UK disease - happens all over the world.

Why is that they can't just let us all feel good about ourselves - for a while at least?

What do you think about it?

The Legacy

Just in case you were wondering how it's all going here in sunny London with the 2012 Olympic Games, I'm happy to report there's been many changes.

As you can see from the photos, Greenwich Park which will be the official site of the equestrian (horse-stuff) events, has markedly changed in appearance, atmosphere and infrastructure in the last few months.

Fortunately, after the Games, the Olympic planners have promised to put everything back exactly as it was.
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The Battle of Portaloo

It's amazing how an event's environment can prevent its successful delivery. There's a few recent articles about how Glastonbury 2012 appears to have been cancelled due to a lack of police and portable toilets.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1321160/Glastonbury-2012-cancelled-London-Olympics-need-police-Portaloos.html
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