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What if they held the Games and nobody came?

Delhi organisers may have been so busy in getting venues ready that they didn't keep an eye on the Box Office.

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Empty seats…everywhere empty seats.

Organisers of the Commonwealth Games may have been so busy in getting venues ready and addressing security concerns that they didn’t keep an eye on the Box Office. At least that’s how it looks. No doubt the real reason is a lot more involved.

Early competition at the Games has been remarkable for the empty seats at stadiums.

Fewer than 100 spectators turned up to watch the Australian netball team thrash Samoa on Monday morning while swimmers raced in front of about 300 onlookers, 200 of them from western countries. The gymnastics and tennis were empty too.

Even the TV cameras can’t shoot around this.

It all diminishes from the atmosphere of the events.

A spokesman for the Delhi Games Organising Committee, Lalit Bhanot, blamed Sunday’s Opening Ceremony, which did not finish until after 10pm, for the small Monday morning turnout.

Ticket sales are said to have picked up dramatically yesterday after the success of the Opening Ceremony. There were also plans to bring in school children to fill seats.

Source: smh.com.au

27 Responses

  1. Pretty pathetic really when the host can’t even get their own people interested in the games. Never give india any type of games again!!
    And worse is how big their population is and still can’t get people in

  2. Isn’t part of the low ticket sales issue because of the quite legitimate security concerns? Just prior to opening there was evidence of shoddy workmanship and terror attacks against tourists. I am sure the organisers must have counted on making most of their money from foreigners but now that they didn’t come…
    What puzzles me most is why on earth would the organisers want to risk the lives of school children by filling the empty seats with them? They are empty for a reason.

  3. The crowds are pathetic
    Besides that i just saw 5 minutes of the tennis, and yes about 20 people in the crowd, its hilarious seeing these security people standing facing the “crowd” there are more sercurity than fans!

    And to add to that this is the worst most unbelievable commentary i have ever heard, in the 5 niutes i watched there was about 1 minute of talk, i can just hear the male “commentator” heavily breathing!?!?!?

    “……..breathe in………….breath out (repeat 30 times)
    ….its like christmas out there, with all the… ah gifts being presented…..”

    Then back to breathing, that literally is what happened in the space of 60 seconds

  6. Little wonder Seven and Nine were not interested in showing these games, leaving it for Channel Ten/ONE HD & to think people with Austar had to pay extra to watch these games. The poor crowds look very bad on TV, a bit like watching the A-League soccer on Fox Sports.

  7. Indians are very enlightened people and I think it’s simply the case that they’ve realised that netball, badminton, and swimming are actually quite boring to watch unless someone from your country is competing.

  8. i don’t think it is a money issue as much as it is a care factor issue. in a country of over a billion there should be more that 100 people willing to pay to get into some events.

  9. The Commonwealth Games have no relevance these days and are a waste of time and money.

    Who cares if you win a medal at these games – you’re really not competing against the best of the best in the field anyway.

    The whole notion of the Commonwealth is so dated – we’re much more aligned with the States and Asia than we are the UK these days anyway. Same as NZ and Canada.

  10. @Chandler … erm no. Have you looked at ticket prices? As cheap as $1.20AUD for team sports. $2.30 to see afternoon/evening session at the pool, the most expensive are $23AUD. $500AUD would be like 20,000INR! Maybe for the platinum seats near Prince Charles at the Ceremony!
    But considering that according to a World Bank estimate 800 million Indians live on less than $2 a day, it makes sense that a lot of them have other priorities.

    Yesterday’s crowds were laughable! Surprised India didn’t bring in twenty/20 cricket, although many of the top nations wouldn’t probably want to bring their best team.

  14. I was watching the badminton and thought the same thing.. yes i realise this sport is quite boring but still.

    i dont think the locals can afford to go!

  15. Chances are if 20/20 cricket was a sport the stands would be full. It is a shame though that athletes who’ve trained long and hard aren’t able to showcase their skills in front of decent crowds.

  16. Forget the school kids why not let some of the 300,000 displaced in for a free treat. The problem is it might be hard getting them out of the Stadiums, but I am sure they will benefit eventually as most of the venues will probably be derelict in 6 months time!

  19. Seriously, I watched TEN last night along with the Foxtel coverage and there is no atmosphere at all.

    Im just happy that I did not have pay extra for Foxtel’s coverage. The sound on the opening ceremony on Foxtel’s repeat was awful – no energy or feel for what was happening in stadium. Really felt like I was watching something instead of being immersed in an event.

  21. Is this low turnout due to
    a) No on cares about the games
    b) People scared about their own security in India
    c) People concerned about the quality of the Hotels
    d) All or a mixture of the above

  23. I’d say the low turnout on day one would be due to a number of factors – unpopularity in India of the various niche sports (swimming, netball, gymnastics, etc, would have next to no profile or coverage in India normally, so are largely unknown to them); ticket cost for locals may be too high; fears about safety of venues; fears of terrorist attack; constant negative local media coverage for weeks in the lead-up to the Games. I watched a lot of the coverage yesterday, and I’ve got to say the venues look terrific and the events were going along like clockwork.

    @Natasha – The Opening Ceremony did not start till midnight, our time. Those numbers are very good for a program on at midnight.

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