The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been urged to implement a standardised ticketing platform for future Olympic Games in a bid to avoid the embarrassing sight of empty seats at Games venues.
Following Beijing’s struggle to fill its venues four years ago, London 2012 has endured similar issues, forcing organisers to negotiate with international federations on a daily basis in a bid to reclaim some seats for the public. With many people having been unsuccessful in securing Games tickets, the sight of empty seats has provoked anger, with the situation being attributed to Games officials and athletes’ friends and family failing to take up prime ‘accredited seating’ for events. British Olympic Association (BOA) chairman Colin Moynihan said that the ticketing issue would be raised with the IOC at the post-Games briefing in Rio de Janeiro.
“This is an opportunity for the IOC to put in place a ticketing system that can be improved at each Games,” he said, according to Reuters. “It is so important to the sporting public of the host city to get this right that the IOC should take this on and make the initial investment in the platform that can deal with the myriad complexities associated with running 26 world championships at the same time.”
He added: “The IOC have got to take the lead to make sure that the investment is in place for a state-of-the-art ticketing programme that can then be improved from Games to Games. I don’t think they should take 100% control of the system, but they should create the platform that the host city needs to build on and adapt and then work with the IOC to make it appropriate for a different Games environment.”
The latest developments during London 2012 have occurred after the IOC asked organisers of Sochi’s 2014 Winter Games to delay their international ticket planning in the wake of a scandal that unfolded in June. The IOC opened an investigation into allegations that National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and official agents were willing to sell thousands of London 2012 tickets on the black market. The IOC had said that it would be prepared to revamp the allocation and sale of international Olympic tickets if an inquiry found that the present system is flawed.
An IOC spokesman said: “Everything from the IOC point of view is constantly under review. Our internal auditors were asked before the Games to look into the ticketing system and to update it and look at how things are done at the IOC level. We are looking into how we distribute our tickets to our National Olympic Committees. I can’t talk about what the policy will be but our audit commission is looking into it, there will be a report sometime after the Games.”
