London ticket grumbles seen as price of success - Reuters UK
LONDON |
LONDON (Reuters) - Complaints over elusive and expensive tickets for the 2012 Olympics are a product of unprecedented demand to see live action from Britons, the man behind the policy said on Monday.
"I'd build a stadium with a million seats because we had more than a million applications to see the opening ceremony and the 100 metres final," Paul Williamson, London 2012 director of ticketing, told the Global Leadership Summit at the London Business School when asked what he would have done differently.
Demand for tickets has far outstripped supply, leading to grumbles from Britons about the initial allocation via online ballot, prices and the number of tickets going to sponsors.
Tickets for the opening ceremony cost from 20.12 pounds ($31.80) to 2,012 pounds ($3,200).
Williamson said London organisers had to market tickets for sports like handball which is a mystery to many people in this country. He said handball and other "challenging sports" like archery, shooting and wrestling would now be played out before full houses.
Athletes could also look forward to having their heats staged in a busy Olympic stadium.
"Morning sessions at the athletics, when the preliminaries are held, were always in a half empty stadium," said Williamson.
"We'll have 60,000 plus in London, so we must have got some of the pricing right. It'll be a different audience from the evenings, more families, but a vibrant atmosphere."
Some of those ticketing grouses were voiced at the conference. Brigitte Ricou-Bellan from online ticket market place StubHub told the conference that her company had surveyed Britons and found dissatisfaction "not just on prices but on delivery of tickets".
However, London organisers won heavyweight support from Michael Payne, former marketing chief for the International Olympic Committee, noting demand for tickets.
"This is viewed internationally as by far the most successful (ticket) marketing programme," Payne told the conference. "It will be the model for Rio (in 2016). The problem is success," he said.
Williamson said a further batch of Games tickets would go on sale on Wednesday and that he expected almost everything to sell out in London.
Tickets for soccer at venues like Newcastle and Glasgow were proving harder to shift, he said.
London organisers had talked of selling excess tickets at booths in the capital before the start of the July 27-August 12 Games but Williamson said he did not expect many tickets to be left over to sell in this way.
($1 = 0.6326 British pounds)
(Reporting by Keith Weir, editing by Justin Palmer)
London Art Fairs: A Beginner’s Guide - Londonist
It seems like London plays host to an art fair every other weekend. How do you decide which one’s are worth going to?
One major differentiator is who’s at these fairs. Some are gallery fairs where all the stands belong to established galleries representing their artists. The advantage here is that the galleries have already screened the artists and selected who they want to represent. This means that the art quality should be high, but also that the gallery will take a hefty commission on purchases. Brace yourself for higher prices.
The other type – we’ll call these artist fairs — are where the artists represent themselves. The organisers of the fair do some screening, but the quality of the work on display is usually a mixed bag. The advantages are you get to talk to and negotiate with the artist directly. This is your chance to discover up-and-coming artists before they make it big.
The third type we’ll refer to as genre fairs. These are aimed at a niche, specialised market and might be the best place to go if you know the exact type of art you’re after.
Gallery Fairs
London Art Fair
Venue: Business Design Centre
When: Every January
Price Range: No limit
Verdict: One for the high rollers, you’ll see artworks going into six figures that are likely to include works by notable artists such as Damien Hirst and Picasso. The level of quality here is very high and is great for browsers but only for serious buyers.
Affordable Art Fair
Venue: Battersea Park and Hampstead Heath
When: Bi-annually in Battersea (March and October), annually in Hampstead (November)
Price Range: £50 to £4,000
Verdict: The title is a little misleading as the prices tend to be more towards the upper limit so may not fall within your definition of affordable; but there is usually much high-quality work on display. Most artists represented are already well established so you may have to settle for their smaller works as their larger pieces often tend to exceed the upper limit of the fair.
Frieze Art Fair
Venue: Regent’s Park
When: Every October
Price Range: Undefined
Verdict: Similar in scope and price to the London Art Fair. This is full of well-established galleries from around the world and this is reflected in the quality of the art and the prices.
Masterpiece
Venue: Royal Hospital, Chelsea
When: Every June
Price Range: Undefined
Verdict: It’s probably unfair to classify this as an art fair as it’s all about masterpieces — from art to food and on to classic cars. This is another one for those with bulky wallets or for those wanting to see what high society is all about.
20/21 British and International Art Fairs
Venue: Royal College of Art, South Kensington
When: Every February (International) and September (British)
Price Range: Undefined
Verdict: A duo of gallery fairs that has one show for British galleries and a separate fair that opens the doors to other art dealers from around the world. The fairs are smaller and less populist so offer a much more relaxing environment for buying and browsing in comparison to the bustle of some of the aforementioned.
Pinta
Venue: Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre
When: Every June
Price Range: Undefined
Verdict: A fair that specialises in bringing across work from the emerging Latin American contemporary art scene. A rare opportunity to see art that doesn’t get a huge showing in the UK.
Artist Fairs
The Other Art Fair
Venue: Ambika P3
When: Every May
Price Range: £50 to c£5,000
Verdict: This is one for spotting the ‘next big thing’. Artists here are unrepresented and are usually very early on in their careers. Hence, there are plenty of bargains to be had. On the flipside, the quality of the work can be variable but don’t let that put you off because there are hidden gems to be found.
Parallax Art Fair
Venue: Chelsea Town Hall
When: Quarterly in February, May, July and October
Price Range: c£50 to c£2,000
Verdict: The very definition of low key. This is an international art fair where up-and-coming artists showcase their work at surprisingly reasonable prices, especially for Chelsea. There are lots of talented artists on display that you might not find elsewhere.
Wimbledon Art Studios — Open Studios
Venue: Wimbledon Art Studios
When: Bi-annually, Summer (May) and Winter (November)
Price Range: c£50 to c£10,000
Verdict: A truly unique event where artists let you wander around their paint-stained studios. There are usually a few hidden talents waiting to be discovered and it’s an opportunity to enter artists’ creative worlds. It also stands apart for being the only free art fair on this list.
Genre fairs
Kinetica Art Fair
Venue: Ambika P3
When: Every February
Price Range: c£50 to c£75,000
Verdict: A great mix of science and art with quirky inventors displaying their wares. Our top recommendation for browsers as you’re unlikely to find these creations in any mainstream gallery.
Animal Art Fair
Venue: South Bank
When: Every May
Price Range: £150 – £30,000
Verdict: Animal lovers won’t want to miss out on this one. If you’re a fan of animal art then this is the place to look for that painting or sculpture you’ve been searching for.
Pick Me Up
Venue: Somerset House
When: Every March/April
Price Range: c£15 to c£1,000
Verdict: This fair is all about contemporary graphic art and bargains abound with signed prints available from as little as £15.
London Original Print Fair
Venue: Royal Academy
When: Every April
Price Range: £100 to £100,000
Verdict: This is the more refined and pricier cousin to Pick Me Up. The higher price range is justified by the more notable names and galleries represented but we prefer the edgier Pick Me Up.
Collect
Venue: Saatchi gallery
When: Every May
Price Range: Undefined
Verdict: The most notable crafts fair in London (though we don’t know of any others). If you’re looking for something that’s both functional and aesthetically pleasing then this is for you.
Did we miss any? Let us know below and we’ll add them to the list.
London 2012 Festival: Coldplay to headline Paralympic closing ceremony - Daily Telegraph
His band formed in 1996 at University College London, and has since gone on to become one of the most successful acts of the last 15 years, topping the charts on both sides of the pond and selling over 55 million records worldwide. Coldplay's most recent album, Mylo Xyloto, was released last year.
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