Enjoy the London Olympics for Next to Nothing
With the 2012 Olympics just around the corner in London, tickets are already sold out. In fact, most of the tickets sold almost immediately when applications were made available in April. While the Olympic games are something that both diehard sports fans and the casual observer look forward to every four years – an unprecedented unity of nations and cultures across the globe -- newly constructed sports event flies in the face of those working toward a green society. In 2012, the Olympics is trying very hard to not only be just green, but sustainable. If you don’t have your ticket, don’t fret. As you may be asking yourself the question that London’s legendary punk rock band The Clash made famous: “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” consider this Olympics an opportunity to go green and find an alternative way to join the games.
“Should I Stay or Should I Go”
Go if you have an open attitude. Go if you believe that London’s sustainability goal will set a new precedent for events worldwide. Go if experiences mean more to you. Go if you will do your part to travel green. The London Olympics published an environmental status report in April 2011.
It is possible to enjoy the Olympics without a ticket – and to travel green – and I am living proof of this testimony. I went to the Olympics when it was in Atlanta. I did not have a ticket in advance. I did not pay for a hotel room. I did not rent a car. I brought a backpack full of local food into the event.
To this day, I rank that experience as one of the best in my life. Where I ended up made it memorable. I bought tickets from a scalper/touter and saw events that would are rarely – if ever -- at the top of the list. The one event that I will remember for a lifetime is a field hockey game between India and Pakistan[. As I stood among thousands of people cheering, the whole word suddenly seemed smaller. I truly understood how international sporting events allow even those countries who have a rocky history with each other set aside their differences and unite toward a common celebration of the best, across cultural, language and, oftentimes, even political boundaries.
Tickets
I never buy tickets in advance for events. I approach getting tickets with a fail-proof attitude: If I cannot get in, I will just walk away. I never pay more than face value for any and never pay the high ticket handling fees. I usually get in for less than face value, and I have never bought a false ticket. (Although we all have our limits – even broke my rule once to see The Pogues. But that’s a story left for another blog.)
So how could this approach help during the 2012 Olympics? Touting/scalping laws for the London Olympics apply to the sellers only; buyers will not be fined for any purchases. Plus, the laws apply to reselling at a profit: “There is no generally agreed definition of ‘touting’, but the term ‘tout’ is commonly understood to be refer to someone who deliberately buys tickets to an event in order to resell them at a profit.” http://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/briefings/snha-04715.pdf
Your best bet is to try to buy tickets on the day of the event – when most people try to unload their tickets for face value or even less so they do not lose money. I recommend researching what a real ticket looks like in advance, examining the ticket offered to you, and making a low-ball offer. Don’t be afraid to use your intuition. If the situation doesn’t feel right, just walk away. You’re the buyer, and you have nothing to lose.
Home Exchange/ Hospitality Exchange
Worried about finding a hotel room? During the Olympics, most hotels will increase their prices as much as four times the going rate, and rooms will sell out well in advance. Instead, see the Olympics without paying for a hotel room by exchanging your home or arranging a hospitality exchange. Green Theme International, www.gti-home-exchange.com, has hundreds of homes listed near the rails, better known in London as “The Tube,” so you can ride a train to Olympic venues. London’s Underground train is notoriously reliable and the most efficient way to get around the city. On the days that you do not have tickets, explore the area by train and other forms of public transportation. http://maps.google.co.uk/intl/en/landing/transit/#dmy Search for homes and select “car not needed” to find listings where you do not need a fossil fuel hog, also known as, a car.
Staying in a home, instead of a hotel, will also save you a lot of money on food. With a kitchen and refrigerator to store food, you have the option to eat in or eat out. Food from a local grocery is always less expensive than from a restaurant.
Food and Water at Olympic Venues
This list of rules and regulations can be disheartening: "Food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, liquids in containers of greater than 100ml in size, umbrellas, horns, whistles, drums, rattles, musical instruments, or any other devices that in the opinion of Locog may disturb a session (including mobile telephones), flasks, Thermoses and in general any material that Locog may deem dangerous or that may cause damage or disruption to a session."
Unfortunately, you will not be able to pack your own food. There is a food vision for the Olympics, http://www.london2012.com/documents/locog-publications/food-vision.pdf, but two major sponsors are McDonalds and Coke - two junk food giants. Other caterers at the event will be serving local food do your research ahead of time so you can buy from the caterer serving locally grown food.
Free tap water will be available at all Olympic venues. Thirst not at the games.
These are a few of the tips that will guide you in your “green” quest to enjoy the 2012 Olympics. This is a great way to enjoy – without breaking the bank or the environment.
Visit www.gti-home-exchange.com to start looking – and booking – your home exchange now!
