Anyone watch Badminton last night?

I fear the Olympics has finally got too far up its own arse, and don't see this issue as a failing of the Greek organisers.It demands a huge stadium for sports which even at their highest level do not command mass audiences. A casual spectator is deterred by overwhelming security, and a huge pile of bureaucratic crap like not weaing T shirts with logos on them.It treats customers as if they are being honoured by being allowed in, an honour it can revoke at a whim.

Indeed, the natural home for the Olympics is Sydney. No one does it better and the location is perfect. If you want a mobile Olympics have it rotate through the Australian cities.

The sight of thousands of vacant seats in the Olympic arenas of Athens is very similar to the backdrop of empty stadiums in the 1990 Italy's World Cup. I think international visitors are being deterred by security concerns (a crummy marketing strategy) and hefty prices of lodging and services, just as it were in Italy during the World Cup. The organizers in 1990, as part of their marketing strategy, portrayed a picture of hysterical demand for tickets to the matches so that tourist operators lifted prices aggressively to more than double, which obviously deterred international football fans from visiting. Likewise in Athens, the organizers have over-emphasized security concerns (security costs has so far swelled to US $1.5 billions…) on account of the games themselves and Greece as a prominent tourist spot. A month before the games opened, the general impression was that the majority of hotel and inns were all booked well in advance so much that locals were encouraged to rent their own apartments for short periods. No steps have been taken to prevent price gouging given that the majority of travellers to Athens are visitors from neighboring countries in Eastern Europe. Most of them cannot afford to pay the high tariffs fixed by local hoteliers and restaurateurs in Athens due to the geographical differences in cost of living between Easter Europe and Greece. Sadly, even within the traveling communities of some wealthier economics, tour operators have hardly marketed this destination. But then again, as most of people who buy low and sell dear (thanks to Gatarek), I, too, will be visiting Athens in the next week. Don't miss the opportunity.

motorist gets the bird