London Olympics ‘no-shows’ spark investigation
Thousands of seats were left empty yesterday at the 2012 London Olympics and the backlash from disgruntled fans swarmed Twitter as the public looked to point fingers at sponsors.
#Emptyseats became a popular trend throughout the Games and continues to trend after high-profile events such as swimming and gymnastics, which had some of the biggest headlines for the day with the highly anticipated showdown between Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, were showered with unfilled seats and bitter fans stuck in the nosebleeds.
The only tickets left (after sponsors and media outlets received privileged seating) were more than three thousand dollars, out of reach for the public. The London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is ‘investigating’ the matter to specifically address why the ‘Olympic family’ (sponsors, media outlets, team officials, athletes) were a no-show.
A spokesperson told The Telegraph:
‘’We believe the empty seats are in accredited seating areas, and we are in the process of finding out who should have been in the seats and why they weren’t there.”
LOCOG is also issuing warnings that tickets would be redistributed if the issue continues.
