An Olympic Story

[lupestripe]

Beach volleyball, table tennis and boxing were the final three Olympic events we had tickets to see, all within the space of 24 hours. Sadly none of these were at the Olympic Park so we could not enter its environs, a major regret, but I still think I was lucky to secure four sets of tickets at all so I'm not going to complain.

The highlight of the three, and indeed the Games for us, was the Beach Volleyball at Horse Guards Parade. With the Houses of Parliament to our right and the London Eye straight ahead, flashing many colours including a delicious red, white and blue ensemble, it felt very much like a London venue rather than detached from the City. Furthermore, the atmosphere was extraordinary, despite the heavy shower which had been falling just prior to the matches.

It was men's quarter-finals between Germany and Brazil initially, then Netherlands against Italy. The former won on both occasions and I was supporting the Netherlands due to rye vast number of Dutch people in bright orange spandex. Indeed every country was well represented in the stands, particularly the Brazilians. There was one guy who was so passionate, he was rallying his troops with aplomb while trying to gee up his fellow Brazilians in the other stands.

Beach Volleyball was very much like a carnival, with dancers coming on every mow and then to entertain, along with rake men who raked the sand in what was called 'Rakey Rakey Time'. The voice of the X Factor was doing the announcing, adding a great deal to the fun factor, while the crowd all got to play the bongos on the giant screen between matches.

Table tennis the next day was a more mute affair. The match we saw was a female team bronze medal tie between South Korea and Singapore. The singaporeans had many fans while the Koreans had a tiny pocket stuffed in one corner. The game, a best of three sets featuring two singles, a doubles, then two singles games if necessary was a walkover for Singapore who climbed into an unassailable 3-0 lead, claiming the bronze prize. The reactions and quickness on show was something to behold and it was surprisingly interesting watching the match. We had good seats with a side-on view so I'm glad I bid for these in the free-for-all process back in May - this was our additional event and it didn't disappoint.

Wolfie was looking forward to the Boxing the most and the atmosphere was again electric. Luckily, two Team GB boxers were slugging it out, along with an Irishman, so we got to experience some of the passionate home support. These bouts were again quarter-finals, at fly weight and welter weight divisions, the latter being more interesting due to the greater power in the punching. Some of the judges' decisions I thought dubious, a common complaint throughout the Olympic Boxing, but the eight bouts - four in each division - thrilled and delighted.

We were offered tickets by the volunteers for Greco-Roman wrestling too as two people had left early but the no-readmittance policy meant we couldn't indulge. This was a shame as in hindsight I do wish that I had bid for more events. I tried over 200 times on the website over the last fortnight to try and get the few tickets which were being released day by day to fill any gaps in the stadia but to no avail. This was annoying as there were clearly empty seats at the Boxing and Table Tennis but I guess these had been sold and the people had just not turned up. It's a shame but sadly unavoidable. We had a great time in London though and are both looking forward to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in two years time.

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Comments

[alexf0x.livejournal.com]

Yeah I agree about the ticket issue I am glad that LOCOG clear things up and made last second tickets advalible. I thought of trying to get some last second ones for the current games but it seems to be as bad as you said 3,000,000 people chasing a released 30,000 (and possibly much less than that per day) tickets. Still I personally got to see the Women's Marathon on sunday, and I have Paralympic athletic tickets for the 7th so I am not complaining. The BBC at least has had amazing TV and internet coverage, as well. Things haven't skipped at beat since the start of the games.

Very tempted to go to the Commonwealth game in Glasgow as well in two years time :)

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

Commonwealth Games are going to be a must for me, really want to go and the Olympics has really whetted my appetite. The ticker situation though was a farce for the Olympics - must have tried 250 times to get tickets but to no avail. Looks like the Paralympics are going the same way - would have loved to have gone to that too but most of the tickets are now gone. Hope you have a good time there.

[alexf0x.livejournal.com]

Actually there where tickets left as of a day ago, I snagged an ExCeL pass on the 6th for a variety of sports on sunday as the Olympic games drew to a close. It only cost £10 for sporting action from 9am to 10pm!

Yes they are selling out fast and I think LOCOG are going to be caught with their pants down by the sudden popularity of the Paralympics. Less so for tickets, but for transport as large numbers of people try to go to the venues through normal school time London traffic.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I am hoping to get to the Olympic Stadium - I went to the ExCeL for the Olympics and while it was fantastic, the cost of getting to London, as well as staying, is prohibitive towards me doing it again. I think it would be value for money to see the Olympic Park though.

From speaking to people, it seems getting single tickets is far more straightforward than getting tickets for two people. I now know of three people who have had considerable success when buying just for themselves.