Beijing vs London Olympic Architecture

« **Reply #75 on:** July 30, 2012, 07:30:02 PM »

Mark,

I figured there was some bias in that article, good to hear its going well otherwise.

Perhaps its just the events they've been showing here in the states that are at these problem venues, because I've certainly noticed a lot of empty seats myself while watching the coverage.

« **Reply #76 on:** July 31, 2012, 03:21:02 AM »

We as a family have been to three events. The first was weightlifting on Sunday morning. Other family watched on TV and commented on the large number of empty seats. In the arena, however, it was clear that it was completely full, bar a number of "Olympic Family" seats in the areas immediately adjacent to the platform. As Mark says, if you give the "Olympic Family" and sponsors the very best seats, these will be the ones the cameras see. It looks much, much worse than it is. Something for the press to be negative about, though, which they need, since most everything else is working like clockwork.

« **Reply #77 on:** July 31, 2012, 03:46:22 AM »

I think we should hold the Olympics every day, no traffic and lots of colourful characters about.

Off to the stadium on Friday for the first night of the athletics, cannot wait!

If anyone is interested in basketball and is in London on Friday 10th I have a spare ticket for the first semi final at 5pm.

« **Reply #78 on:** August 04, 2012, 07:52:23 AM »

From the architects themselves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkjtCRV3_Fc

A nice video and starts to explain why architecture is not just about the external look...

« **Reply #79 on:** August 05, 2012, 05:54:24 PM »

Quote from: Mark Chaplin on July 28, 2012, 06:06:40 PM

JK why did you turn around after the Atlanta bombing? I don't recall the Games being cancelled.

Rich your diving quote is rather misleading, it's 600 seats that were withdrawn from the diving. It's 4800 in total for all the sessions. I was at Earls Court today for the volleyball and the restricted view seats clearly hadn't been sold.

Sorry for not replying earlier, Mark, but I've been computer free for 10 days. You are right about my mistake, but 600 restricted seats sold at full price is 600 too many.

As for the architecture, 10 days on I think it is working pretty well--particularly the bits where the venues are integrated into the fabric of London (e.g. beach volleyball)--but I doubt if many if any of the purpose-built venues will either live long or be seen as world class once the athletes and the spectators have gone home.

I could, of course, be wrong....

« **Reply #80 on:** August 05, 2012, 09:13:53 PM »

Quote from: Mark Chaplin on July 31, 2012, 03:46:22 AM

I think we should hold the Olympics every day, no traffic and lots of colourful characters about.

In Los Angeles during the 1984 Olympics you could walk across the freeways during rush hour it was so empty.

« **Reply #81 on:** August 05, 2012, 09:25:48 PM »

anybody who is not in england and wants to watch the bbc's world class coverage i recommend tunnellbear.com. costs a few bucks but provides a uk ip address so you can watch live and full replays of all events.

« **Reply #82 on:** August 06, 2012, 04:11:08 AM »

Tell you what, the Beeb has pulled out all the stops in covering the Os. From an American standpoint (and certainly a Chinese standpoint), its absolutely necessary to utilize the full array because so much Beeb time is spent on British athletes that its impossible to follow other folks if one sticks to the main channels. I fully expect some partisanship, but its a bit overboard. Of course, some of the reason for that could be the Brits are having the best Os by a mile - from my memory anyway, but its a lot of velodrome, crew and sailing stuff which doesn't really float my boat.

Ciao

« **Reply #83 on:** August 06, 2012, 06:27:27 AM »

Sean the BBC are making the most of the appalling coverage from the Olympic Broadcasting Service, their coverage of the road cycling shows it's best left to the experts. If you have the red button you can choose fro around 15 live channels with not one advert break on any of them. Don't forget it's the British Broadcasting Company so they will naturally highlight British athletes just as the US channels highlight US adverts!

With the red button I've watched fencing, badminton, wrestling, etc live and not a Brit (or advert) in sight.

« **Reply #84 on:** August 06, 2012, 06:56:20 AM »

Quote from: Mark Chaplin on August 06, 2012, 06:27:27 AM

Sean the BBC are making the most of the appalling coverage from the Olympic Broadcasting Service, their coverage of the road cycling shows it's best left to the experts. If you have the red button you can choose fro around 15 live channels with not one advert break on any of them. Don't forget it's the British Broadcasting Company so they will naturally highlight British athletes just as the US channels highlight US adverts!

With the red button I've watched fencing, badminton, wrestling, etc live and not a Brit (or advert) in sight.

Chappers

Yes, hence my comments. That said, I would have thought the main channels would focus more on coverage rather than waste of time chit chat and also ran British athletes. I have spent most of time off the main channels in the hope of seeing the best athletes rather than British athletes.

It would be interesting to see who is winning the most medals in proper events, mind you we all have different ideas of "proper". Mind you, watching Judo was pretty cool - biggest surprise event of the Os for me. I don't follow it at all (to be honest, I don't follow any events highlighted by Summer Os), but I was inspired to seek it out on the minor channels. As usual, the most impressive from an expert/experience PoV is track & field. The Beeb gets good people who know the subject and the athletes to commentate.

Ciao

« **Reply #85 on:** August 07, 2012, 04:21:41 AM »

Here is an excellent article on page 20 of The Times today by Charlie Cox who is in the USA;

NBC's Olympics: a little sport thrown in between the ads.

From the snippets I've seen, ive learnt that, in the main, the Olympics are held in the pool and most competitors are called Phelps.

The 100 metres sprint. The outside world, I'm sure, held its breath. Even here anticipation was high. I am eight hours behind the UK on the West Coast , but even I know Usain Bolt wasn't defending his crown at 3am Lonson time. Unbelievably NBC delayed televising the race to show it at prime time.

« **Reply #86 on:** August 07, 2012, 04:35:25 AM »

Chappers

As I said before, thank goodness the Beeb actually put my money to good work with all the extra channels because the main coverage is shocking. Last night was a perfect example. There was a cracking USA/Canada women's football match on (maybe the best sport I have seen this Os), what was the main Beeb showing? A hopelessly out of her depth pole vaulter and heat after heat of track racing. Hell, most of the pole vaulting wasn't even shown because of chit chat. There has been endless talk of legacy/inspiration, yet a women's version of the game trying desperately to grow in the UK is practically ignored. I wonder if the Beeb 1 or 2 will have the foresight to forego chit chat and endless qualifying heats and actually give the final its due with some prime time Beeb - one can hope.

I hate commercials, but watching has beens commentate in a booth while sport is taking place is just plain stupid. This amounts to the same thing as a commercial imo - waste of time as I am not interested in what they are selling.

BTW - for those USA/Canada match - find it and watch it - one of the best football games I have ever seen.

Ciao

« **Reply #87 on:** August 07, 2012, 05:56:56 AM »

Sean,

The Olympics, at it's heart, is about track and field. I'd have been outraged if BBC1 had chosen to show a football match instead of covering athletics. The football was on the red button, if you wanted to watch it and highlights were shown later.

« **Reply #88 on:** August 07, 2012, 06:08:40 AM »

Mark

I agree with you that summer Os are (or should be) in the main about track & field. My beef is two-fold.

First, a ton of track & field is not covered because of time wasted in a booth - seemingly waiting for a hopeful British athlete to compete.

Second, the Beeb can see what is happening all over the park and further afield. They can therefore hop around and show us good stuff from ALL SPORTS far better than you or I can using all that is available. Instead, their main focus seems to be about sticking to a booth for chit chat or going to interviews in the Velodrome/and wherever rowing is taking place until a British athlete competes. Last night's coverage was dire.

I think this sort of coverage is not conducive to average joe out there wanting to experience the Os on tv. WAAAAYYYY TOO MUCH DOWN TIME when the sport never ends. Why all the chit chat?

Ciao

« **Reply #89 on:** August 07, 2012, 06:29:17 AM »

Quote from: Sean Arble on August 07, 2012, 06:08:40 AM

Mark

I agree with you that summer Os are (or should be) in the main about track & field. My beef is two-fold.

First, a ton of track & field is not covered because of time wasted in a booth - seemingly waiting for a hopeful British athlete to compete.

Second, the Beeb can see what is happening all over the park and further afield. They can therefore hop around and show us good stuff from ALL SPORTS far better than you or I can using all that is available. Instead, their main focus seems to be about sticking to a booth for chit chat or going to interviews in the Velodrome/and wherever rowing is taking place until a British athlete competes. Last night's coverage was dire.

I think this sort of coverage is not conducive to average joe out there wanting to experience the Os on tv. WAAAAYYYY TOO MUCH DOWN TIME when the sport never ends. Why all the chit chat?

Ciao

Fully agree, Sean

If you want to watch limeys riding bicycles or horses or boats (or other limeys talking about limeys riding bicycles or horses or boats), the Beeb is your cup of tea. If you want to watch the Olympics, you are SOL if you live in the UK.....

Rich

« **Reply #90 on:** August 07, 2012, 06:45:45 AM »

Not just in the coverage, jingoism has plagued the commentary as well from the beeb. As for "action-free" prime time coverage, it sounds like the BBC has torn a page from the NBC playbook, which back in 1992 decided that the men would watch no matter what and if they plastered the coverage with gymnastics and lots and lots and lots of "human" (read: female) interest stories they'd win gold in distaff broadcasting.

Combine that with a refusal to broadcast meaningful events before 22h00 on the East Coast and the fact it's all delayed-broadcast anyway and we've pretty much given up watching "live" primetime. Instead it's hello TiVo--NBC's ex-primetime covg is great (when you have the power to FF through the interminable beach bball).

Sean, I agree the USA-Canada match was incredible. As a Ladybugs fan I say the Canadians got jobbed. By the way, we don't have BBC's 15 red button "channels" but we do have one that shows nothing but football. Great to line in a nation of immigrants!

« **Reply #91 on:** August 07, 2012, 08:11:18 AM »

Mark B and Sean A

I serendipitously/randomly hit the proper Beeb red button last night and found my way into the last 2 minutes of the USA-Canada match. What drama and what a finish! I lost 1-2 good hours of my life being stuck to Beeb 1 and listening to commentator drivel and interviews with anonymous cyclists and "Team GB" losers.

However, in spite of the crap coverage, it hs been a great Olympics and some great "Team GB" (and other?) performances. Shame we could only see the crescent and not the whole of the moon.....

Rich G

« **Reply #92 on:** August 07, 2012, 08:55:20 AM »

Rich, the real star of these excellent Olympics properly is...London. The venues are so striking they're unreal, as though I've stumbled on one of my children's video games with their impossible tracks and fields.

Mark C: you Brits have really cocked it up as you're supposed to just nudge past the Aussies not blow them out. The inquiries already have been announced and I forsee another multi-decade run of dominance once they work out a new formula. Which we all know they will.

« **Reply #93 on:** August 07, 2012, 09:05:42 AM »

Quote from: Mark Bourgeois on August 07, 2012, 08:55:20 AM

Mark C: you Brits have really cocked it up as you're supposed to just nudge past the Aussies not blow them out. The inquiries already have been announced and I forsee another multi-decade run of dominance once they work out a new formula. Which we all know they will.

that, of course, was the worry with the cricket. The Aussie backlash, however, and so far, is badly misfiring.

« **Reply #94 on:** August 07, 2012, 09:19:08 AM »

Mark P:

I can see your characteristic impish smile as you type that but the Aussie contingent is grimly logging your comments in anticipation of gca.com's first "Culture v Convicts Cup." (See what I did there? That's the proper way to insert the knife.)

Anyway, you and I both know that the reckoning is a decade off. England had better ramp up the playing fields of Eton--actually John Bull needs to create four Etonian clones: Oz undoubtedly will retool its fearsome state institutes of sport.

« **Reply #95 on:** August 07, 2012, 05:30:27 PM »

Australia who?

Sean - I'd sooner stick red hot needles in my plums than watch 90 mins of football in the Olympics, most people think there is enough football on TV as it is. Was it shown fully live in the USA?

The BBC has a formula for the games - swimming, rowing & gymnastics in week one and athletics, boxing and cycling in week two on the main channel. I've also watched live fencing, archery - some exciting finishes, sailing zzzzz, equestrian and slalom canoeing. It's amazing they have 15 live channels and people want football on BBC1!!

« **Reply #96 on:** August 07, 2012, 06:08:17 PM »

Quote from: Mark Chaplin on August 07, 2012, 05:30:27 PM

Australia who?

Sean - I'd sooner stick red hot needles in my plums than watch 90 mins of football in the Olympics, most people think there is enough football on TV as it is. Was it shown fully live in the USA?

The BBC has a formula for the games - swimming, rowing & gymnastics in week one and athletics, boxing and cycling in week two on the main channel. I've also watched live fencing, archery - some exciting finishes, sailing zzzzz, equestrian and slalom canoeing. It's amazing they have 15 live channels and people want football on BBC1!!

Chappers

You don't get it. I want what is good happening on the main channels. The Beeb can easily monitor all the events and break into boring and endless chit chat when good stuff is going on - it doesn't matter which sport. Having all the channels in the world still doesn't give me the capability to keep properly up on the good things that are unfolding like the Beeb can. Instead, they drone on and on and on about stupid stuff and legacies- blah blah blah.

Ciao

« **Reply #97 on:** August 07, 2012, 06:16:28 PM »

Sean, you make a good point not only for BBC1 but for NBC (which no doubt is badly lagging BBC's efforts overall). What we need is Frank Chirkinian. Well, a Frank Chirkinian.

« **Reply #98 on:** August 07, 2012, 06:30:36 PM »

The Irish commentators seem to have it right:

http://www.thatvideosite.com/v/5852

« **Reply #99 on:** August 07, 2012, 06:36:51 PM »

Sean,

The thing is, the BBC is for the masses (well not BBC4 thankfully but you know what I mean), and therefore has to go down to the lowest common denominator... This means reminding people who only watch athletics or cycling once every 4 years about the history of the sport or what has actually just happened. This does though mean more waffle from the pundits and letting everyone back in the home town of someone who just got knocked out in the heats know how they did...

I was agreeing with you to some extent, but football shouldnt be in the Olympics and yet you want to see it on prime time TV? No thanks!

Cheers,

James

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