London Organizing Committee Chairman Sebastian Coe says tickets are being distributed to soldiers and others to fill those seats. He said no one would object to free tickets for public servants.
The idea of ‘military service schools’ may be a cheap way for British politicians to use the popularity of the armed forces as a substitute for actual policy, but it did imply that there would be some intellectual activity involved on the part of the personnel theoretically recruited to perform this task. The idea that the military should be used to ‘fill seats’ takes the whole military substitution ethic one stage further, though it does imply a human presence. It doesn’t sound like a bad gig either, but if I was a squaddie I would still be worried about the forthcoming and inevitable calls for the military to ‘fill holes in the road’, ‘improve cavity wall insulation’ ‘become flood barriers’ and kindred static tasks.
I wish Lord Coe would tell some of his employees that this is happening, because some friends of mine in the military working at the games decided to see some events on their day off, and every Locog staffer they asked told them to get lost.
Posted by: ajay | July 31, 2012 at 07:17 AM
The thing is, while blocks of empty seats are quite conspicuous, blocks of seats exclusively occupied by soldiers in uniform are also quite conspicuous. As far as I can see, the main benefit of this duty is that from the soldiers' point of view it can be carried out sitting down.
Posted by: dsquared | July 31, 2012 at 07:17 AM
the main benefit, I am pretty sure, is that you get to watch the Olympics live for free with your mates. What, aren't squaddies supposed to be interested in sports?
Posted by: ajay | July 31, 2012 at 07:20 AM
Japonica.
Glistens like coral in all of the neighbouring gardens,
And today we have Mens Lightweight Double Sculls qualifying rounds
Posted by: Stephen | July 31, 2012 at 10:40 AM
the gold medals
held by the foreigners with silent, eloquent gestures
which in our case we have not got.
Posted by: Chris Williams | July 31, 2012 at 10:55 AM
Drizzle falls always
The red sun claims the silver
From the bronzéd lion
Posted by: Richard J | July 31, 2012 at 11:01 AM
It might be thought that shots of soldiers filling arenas are more suited to foreign countries. Can't they get prostitutes in, like the Oscars, or would that involve having to shell out sponsors' hard earned cash?
Posted by: skidmarx | July 31, 2012 at 11:04 AM
Sincere congratulations to Stephen and Chris. Excellent stuff.
Posted by: chris y | July 31, 2012 at 11:08 AM
What, aren't squaddies supposed to be interested in sports?
I dunno. I don't like sport myself. I think if your job was standing about in the pissing rain, and you were transferred to duties sitting down in the warm, the marginal utility of someone also having a swimming race in front of you would be smaller.
Posted by: dsquared | July 31, 2012 at 05:39 PM