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Olympics: Public "Staying Away in Droves"
Games chiefs ready to give away ticketsBy Paul Hayward in Athens The Olympics came home to Greece at the weekend but nobody was in. Three days into the 28th modern Olympiad, officials in Athens are under pressure from the International Olympic Committee to paper the city with free tickets if necessary to solve the growing crisis of low turn-outs. Broadcasters cringed as television audiences around the world saw tennis, weightlifting, hockey and gymnastics played out in half-empty stadiums. Even last night's main attraction - the clash of the two young Titans of the pool, Ian Thorpe and Michael Phelps - failed to sell out as Athenians declined to buy into the rhetoric of the great Olympic homecoming. Many have supported a more modern Greek tradition by fleeing to the holiday islands. (more) Posted by: mojo 2004-08-16 |
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