The Turin Organising Committee is so worried about the low turnout of punters prepared to buy tickets to the forthcoming Winter Olympics, that it has commissioned a national television and advertising campaign called "Being There Is Different."
Turin's organising committee, which sells tickets within the European Union, has sold less than 60% of its 1 million tickets and has availability left for every event.
Monday, 23 January 2006
Friday, 20 January 2006
One Third of Winter Olympic Tickets Remain Unsold
Over 370,000 tickets remain unsold for the Turin Winter Olympics, which begin on February 10th.
That represents over one third of the available tickets.
The Turin organising committee are putting a brave face on it by claiming that, in Italy, everything is done "at the last minute".
That represents over one third of the available tickets.
The Turin organising committee are putting a brave face on it by claiming that, in Italy, everything is done "at the last minute".
Thursday, 19 January 2006
Turn or Torino?
It seems that there is some confusion in the media as to precisely where the forthcoming Winter Olympics are being held.
Is it Turin, or Torino?
Turin is the English translation of the Italian word Torino. Therefore, if the English speaking media are to follow standard practice, the word should be Turin.
Someone needs to tell the guys at NBC Sports that it is the shroud of Turin, not the shroud of Torino!
Is it Turin, or Torino?
Turin is the English translation of the Italian word Torino. Therefore, if the English speaking media are to follow standard practice, the word should be Turin.
Someone needs to tell the guys at NBC Sports that it is the shroud of Turin, not the shroud of Torino!
Tuesday, 17 January 2006
IT Boom Time
Wherever the Olympic juggernaut trundles, in its wake it leaves a pile of cash for those with the business nounce to feed off.
Britain, which hosts the Olympics in 2012, is expecting a large payoff to its IT industry.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog) has a projected budget of £204M for information systems, £63M for telecommunications and £12.5M for internet applications.
The London 'bid book' for the Olympics notes that the IT sector will account for £7.2BN of the £9.9BN of capital investment.
Needless to say, much of this will be spent on security which the British government loves.
It is expected that there will be a big expansion in the number of CCTV cameras in the city, and a move from analogue to digital technology facilitating more automatic analysis of people's behaviour.
I am sure that the government will enjoy putting all of these new "toys" to "good" use after the games!
Britain, which hosts the Olympics in 2012, is expecting a large payoff to its IT industry.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog) has a projected budget of £204M for information systems, £63M for telecommunications and £12.5M for internet applications.
The London 'bid book' for the Olympics notes that the IT sector will account for £7.2BN of the £9.9BN of capital investment.
Needless to say, much of this will be spent on security which the British government loves.
It is expected that there will be a big expansion in the number of CCTV cameras in the city, and a move from analogue to digital technology facilitating more automatic analysis of people's behaviour.
I am sure that the government will enjoy putting all of these new "toys" to "good" use after the games!
Monday, 16 January 2006
Greek Lessons
Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has promised to provide assistance in every possible way to the Chinese, in order to make 2008 Beijing Olympic Games successful.
Quote:
"I would like to assure you that Greece will assist in every possible way the effort of the Chinese government so that the Games of Beijing will be outstanding in all aspects, and a true reflection of the long history and rich culture of China, as well as its current status as a world political and economic power."
Adding:
"Greece is ready to offer her expertise and know-how whenever this is asked for."
Two Chinese Olympic delegations have already visited Greece, and the Alternate Minister for Culture and Athletics, Ms Petralia, has already visited China twice.
There are some very clear lessons that the Chinese can learn from the Athens Games, namely; cost control, effective planning and budgeting.
None of these were in evidence at the Athens Games, the result being a crippling price tag to the hapless Greek taxpayer of 13BN Euros and a variety of white elephants that no one wishes to use.
Quote:
"I would like to assure you that Greece will assist in every possible way the effort of the Chinese government so that the Games of Beijing will be outstanding in all aspects, and a true reflection of the long history and rich culture of China, as well as its current status as a world political and economic power."
Adding:
"Greece is ready to offer her expertise and know-how whenever this is asked for."
Two Chinese Olympic delegations have already visited Greece, and the Alternate Minister for Culture and Athletics, Ms Petralia, has already visited China twice.
There are some very clear lessons that the Chinese can learn from the Athens Games, namely; cost control, effective planning and budgeting.
None of these were in evidence at the Athens Games, the result being a crippling price tag to the hapless Greek taxpayer of 13BN Euros and a variety of white elephants that no one wishes to use.
Wednesday, 11 January 2006
Alitalia Threaten Strike
In the true spirit of the Olympics, ie putting money first, Alitalia SpA pilots and flight attendants plan to strike on the eve and the first day of next month's Winter Olympics in Turin.
Needless to say this will cause havoc for arriving fans.
Cabin crews are set to strike for 24 hours on February 10th, the day of the opening ceremony, and pilots are scheduled to stage a four-hour protest the previous day.
The Turin organising committee spokesman, Giuseppe Gattino, said that the situation is being "monitored".
The strike is going ahead, despite the fact that local Turin unions signed an "Olympic Truce" in November. However, an agreement to suspend protests on a national level is still being discussed.
The 24-hour strike by flight attendants was originally scheduled for November 28, but was postponed due to the proximity of another strike.
According to Mauro Rossi, an official with transport union FILT-CGIL:
"It's a dispute that has been going on for a long time, and to postpone the strike we would need something really concrete from Alitalia."
He added that the date wasn't timed to coincide with the Olympics, but was the result of the postponement. Allegedly it would be difficult to postpone the strike again because the Easter holidays begin shortly after the games, and strikes are banned during that period.
Believe that, and you will believe anything!
Needless to say this will cause havoc for arriving fans.
Cabin crews are set to strike for 24 hours on February 10th, the day of the opening ceremony, and pilots are scheduled to stage a four-hour protest the previous day.
The Turin organising committee spokesman, Giuseppe Gattino, said that the situation is being "monitored".
The strike is going ahead, despite the fact that local Turin unions signed an "Olympic Truce" in November. However, an agreement to suspend protests on a national level is still being discussed.
The 24-hour strike by flight attendants was originally scheduled for November 28, but was postponed due to the proximity of another strike.
According to Mauro Rossi, an official with transport union FILT-CGIL:
"It's a dispute that has been going on for a long time, and to postpone the strike we would need something really concrete from Alitalia."
He added that the date wasn't timed to coincide with the Olympics, but was the result of the postponement. Allegedly it would be difficult to postpone the strike again because the Easter holidays begin shortly after the games, and strikes are banned during that period.
Believe that, and you will believe anything!
Tuesday, 10 January 2006
Poor Ticket Sales For Turin
With only one month to go until the start of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, only half of the one million tickets have been sold.
In theory, organisers hope to eventually sell around 850K tickets. However, expectations of a boost after the Olympic torch began its two-month tour the length and breadth of Italy in early December have not been realised.
The main problem is that there has been little or no publicity in Italy for the Games.
Italy-wide advertising has suffered from cuts in marketing expenses during a series of cash crises over the past year.
In theory, organisers hope to eventually sell around 850K tickets. However, expectations of a boost after the Olympic torch began its two-month tour the length and breadth of Italy in early December have not been realised.
The main problem is that there has been little or no publicity in Italy for the Games.
Italy-wide advertising has suffered from cuts in marketing expenses during a series of cash crises over the past year.
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