AFTER the stunning success of the London Olympics opening ceremony and its message of togetherness and inclusivity, the sight of empty seats at eagerly awaited events has been all the more dispiriting.
After years of slow-release ticket sales and distribution, television footage showing banks of coveted but unoccupied spaces have caused deep dismay among those who failed to obtain tickets and to the organisers anxious to ensure full attendance at events.
This is a PR gaffe of the worst kind. And it is one that LOCOG must move swiftly to correct. Full details of the seat allocations not taken up are now being sought. But at this early stage the problem points to official and corporate allocations not being taken up. It will anger some that so many seats at events were initially allocated in this way: sport should be for genuine enthusiasts rather than grandees and well-heeled business folk. But it was only fair that the organisers acknowledged the substantial financial support that corporate sponsorship has brought to the development of many sports, without which opportunities for athletes would have been critically reduced. It is on just this funding that our present and future success in sport depends.
And as with other sporting events, the physical movement of spectators can be complex and considerable: possession of a ticket does not dictate that the holder should remain in the allocated seat for the full duration of the event.
However, the sight of rows of empty seats sends an unpleasant message, one that implies disrespect for the occasion and in particular for the athletes taking part. That is why officials and sponsors have a special responsibility at these Games. Coveted tickets should never be playthings for the privileged and it should be made clear to those who were allocated them that they carry an obligation to turn up. Not only do empty seats tarnish the events the sponsors are trying to promote but they can also reflect badly on the sponsor, defeating the very objective of corporate support. Few sights more reinforce an already damaging image of corporate excess, or add to the corrosion of public support and trust.
In addition to urgently ensuring this message is driven home, there are sensible and practical steps the organisers can take to minimise no-shows and to ensure, as Lord Coe insists, that events are “packed to the rafters”. There should be a mechanism by which those who are unable on the day to take up their allocation can have their seats made available to fans on a stand-by basis. And those who have to leave events before they are completed should be able to leave their tickets for others to take up.
Central to the Olympic spirit is a commitment to inclusion and that the Games are by, for and about all who love and follow sport. For a global event such as this, there should be just no room for empty seats.
Hall’s closure not yet irreversible
IT IS a baleful feature of recessions that hitherto containable problems of corporate life are no longer tolerable. Faced with market contraction, the viability of seemingly rock-solid businesses can come under searching question. Closure appears an inescapable and inevitable conclusion. This looks to be the tragic outcome for the meat processing business of Hall’s of Broxburn and its 1,700 employees.
But there is another feature of recessions that is as pronounced and which offers hope. Necessity is the mother of invention. Adversity obliges companies and their staffs to adapt and innovate. Doors open to solutions that seemed until now impossible.
What is the problem here at heart? Is it intractable market conditions, or the lay-out of the factory? Both explanations have been advanced. A full analysis and exploration is surely merited to find a way forward that yields a viable future for the business and avoids the devastating alternative of closure.
The parties now involved in a task force meeting today to explore ways forward from here – management, the workforce, the local authority and cabinet secretary John Swinney representing the Scottish Government – will be under no illusion as to the tough conditions the company faces or the scale of the savings necessary should a core business be identified and able to emerge.
Such an outcome would still
involve pain. But it would be preferable to total closure and the drastic consequences for the local community. For that reason all support should be made available to enable the company to explore a plan that might save at least some of the jobs at this important and hitherto successful plant.