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[ruchir]

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/British-athletes-may-skip-London-Opening-Ceremon?urn=oly-wp452



British athletes may skip London Opening Ceremony
By Maggie Hendricks

What's an Olympic Opening Ceremony without Olympic athletes? We may find that out in London next year, as several high-profile British athletes are contemplating boycotting the Opening Ceremony.

    Coaches have already banned the entire British track and field squad from taking part in the London 2012 ceremony, even though they will not be competing until at least a week later. Britain's swimming team is likely to follow suit.

    It means spectators who have paid as much as $3,280 for a ticket will almost certainly be deprived of seeing big names such as the heptathlete Jessica Ennis, the swimmer Rebecca Adlington and the teenage diver Tom Daley parade through the Olympic stadium, The Sunday (London) Times reported.

    Phillips Idowu, the triple jumper, will also skip the event, while doubts remain over the attendance of Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton, the Olympic cycling champions.

The problem? Staging for the Opening Ceremony can take up to eight hours. For much of it, the athletes are standing and walking. It's common practice for athletes who are competing soon after the ceremony to skip it, but the time spent on the ceremony is discouraging all athletes to participate.

Olympic organizers are doing everything they can to prevent this mass boycott from happening. For the Beijing Olympics, athletes were bussed to the Birds Nest, the ceremony site, which caused the big lines and need for standing, but London 2012 notes that the Olympic Village is within walking distance of the stadium.

From an athlete's perspective, you don't want to derail your medal hopes just to stand through a glitzy ceremony, but British athletes, you're the last ones to enter the stadium. Carry a pocket chair, and sit down and relax when you can, but go to the ceremony. One of the most chill-inducing moments of the Olympic Opening Ceremony is when the host country's athletes walk into the stadium and their country gets to cheer them on. After years spent preparing for the games, the United Kingdom should not be denied that.

[k-slice]

what a joke. i am siding with the athletes on this one. you train hard for 4 years day in and day out and you do some damage standing for 8 hours. insanity.

[WicketView]

I have never taken enough interest in athletics, so this is a naive question. But in cricket, say if a WC was going on, I would try to go to some matches featuring my team and other matches that I find interesting. The opening ceremony, I would watch on TV, if at all. Is there a reason why people prefer to watch the opening ceremony rather than the actual events in athletics? (like perhaps the 100 m dash only takes a few seconds, and is therefore not worth the buck?)

[dave_dj]

I have never taken enough interest in athletics, so this is a naive question. But in cricket, say if a WC was going on, I would try to go to some matches featuring my team and other matches that I find interesting. The opening ceremony, I would watch on TV, if at all. Is there a reason why people prefer to watch the opening ceremony rather than the actual events in athletics? (like perhaps the 100 m dash only takes a few seconds, and is therefore not worth the buck?)

I can talk from my experience with  Atlanta Olympics.  Here, we had to fill out a comprehensive booklet with our choices for almost a year before the event.  We rarely got what we wanted for each day.  So even though you may want to see your team play, you may not get all the tickets. 

Opening ceremony is pure entertainment, tickets very limited, very expensive and would be lucky to get one.  I saw all sorts of games but did not get either opening or closing ceremony - one reason possibly I did not go for the expensive tickets.  For athletics, you see more than one run  - several in fact.  The ticket may allow you to see men's quarters and women's semi's - so you will be able to see all the events in each of those groups.  Hope it helps.

[WicketView]

Thanks. So, going by what you say, if I was an athletics fan, I would probably not care so much about the ceremonies, just like I would not in a cricket/soccer world cup.

[dave_dj]

Thanks. So, going by what you say, if I was an athletics fan, I would probably not care so much about the ceremonies, just like I would not in a cricket/soccer world cup.

That is true for some folks and for some folks - it is a total package - sports and experience.  That Olympic event  was also lot like a festival with bands and performances in the evening in Olympic parks (at least that's what was in Atlanta) where people all over the world gathered to enjoy.

Like all other things in life it depends on what you want out of it.

[hurricane]

I sympathize with the athletes.
Personally I have never enjoyed the opening or closing ceremonies - but I have never seen them in person. I think they drag on too long and it is like the half-time show - not what you are really there to see. I guess there are a lot of people who like them and apparently, from the ticket prices, it is a big money maker.
But it is likely to make some ticket holders very angry if the home team doesn't make a showing.
It is about time that they consider redesigning the whole thing. Why do the athletes have to walk? Why not put them on floats like in a parade?