Olympic Stadia need "Lent a Clowd"

Escafeldia · #1 (**permalink**) 12-08-2008, 06:45 PM

It has just been revealed on the BBC News that many of the seats in the various Olympic Stadia are empty. The Chinese Authorities have organised "Cheer Leader Groups" to boost the numbers, cheer mainly for China and make the crowds appear bigger than they otherwise would be. These folk from "Lent a Clowd" wear yellow "T" Shirts with red writing on them and they stand out like the balls on a whippet. All this crowd boosting is to maintain the Chinese "self respect" or "face" if you like. These people are said to be volunteers but I would bet my last bowl of rice that they are "pressed" into service.

The other item which has come to the surface is the young girl who sang the song towards the end of the Olympic Ceremony. Apparently she wasn't singing, only miming, and the voice wasn't hers either. The original young girl, who actually sang the song and whose voice was used for the miming, wasn't used because one of the Chinese Hierarchy decided she wasn't pretty enough. What an awful thing to do to a young child - tell her she's ugly and then use her voice to boost someone elses performance. The Chinese have always been good at "smoke and mirrors" - b******s

**Adam** · #2 (**permalink**) 13-08-2008, 12:44 AM

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | China Olympic ceremony star mimed

Seems that the girl with the true talent was just too ugly to sing and I'm disappointed hear that the firework footprints weren't real.

**Adam** · #3 (**permalink**) 13-08-2008, 12:45 AM

merged threads as similar.

Not much to say really. I'm not surprised but at the same time can't blame them for trying to make the stadium look full.

Escafeldia · #4 (**permalink**) 13-08-2008, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam

merged threads as similar.

Not much to say really. I'm not surprised but at the same time can't blame them for trying to make the stadium look full.

I would have thought that getting the stadia at least two thirds full would be the basis for making a profit from the games. I don't know how much the tickets cost but there have been stories about them not being available. I find it hard to imagine that anyone would buy an expensive ticket and then not turn up for the performance. Even the swimming, which is said to be one of the most popular events, has lots of seats going begging. The Beijing Cheer Leaders are obvious by their "T" Shirts so they are easy to spot among the crowd. I, for one, will be looking for the yellow groups. They have even had "coaching" on how to cheer and wave their arms about. How sad is that?

In respect of making any profit from the Olympic Games I have never heard of any country which has hosted these games even managing to break even. If Seb Coe and his group of 2012 Olyimpic supporters think London will come out of their games in the black they are going to be disappointed in my estimation.