London 2012 Olympics may restrict Weymouth residents from watching sailing event
It has been recently revealed that the London 2012 Olympics organisers are trying hard to stop the residents of Weymouth from witnessing the sailing action for free from a public park which offers a view of the race course.
Nothe Gardens is strategically located to give the perfect view of the race and is a public park present in Dorset town. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, which is the main organiser of the event, has confirmed that
it is seeking approval for a plan that aims to seal about 40,000 square metres of public space.
However, the reason that has been given for such an endeavour is that the sealed area is required for safety reasons and it is an attempt to control the crowd that is expected to be present at the event next year.
John Burtwistle, the Liberal Democrat representative present in the area and a Portland Borough councilor made the following statements about London Olympics’ attempt at sealing off the park: "When the award of the Olympics to London was first made the councils
involved down here said they would do everything in their power to promote the games. That seems to have been interpreted as allowing LOCOG and the Olympic Delivery Authority to do what they like. The bottom line is that they are trying to make Olympic sailing
a pay-per-view event in Weymouth."
According to Burtwistle, the people in the park would be charged an amount of approximately £55 in order to watch the sailing event from the gardens.
This recent development has come hand in hand with criticism that LOCOG has been facing regarding the ticket sales that have been conducted. Friday saw the second-chance ticket sales of the Olympics begin and like the first round, there was a considerable
feeling of disappointment by the public.
The applicants had to wait for a long time in order to get their application registered online after which they were told that the confirmation will be received after a period of two days.
In light of recent events, LOCOG may need to take its procedures into consideration so that public sentiment is not negatively affected.
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