The Olympics - am I bothered?

THE Olympic Games opens in London a year today. Am I bothered? Absolutely!

I was fortunate enough to cover the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. The highlight was watching Matthew Pinsent and Steve Redgrave capturing Britain's only gold medal at the Games in the coxless pairs title at Lake Lanier. This, just hours after most of the reporters had been working through the night reporting on the bomb explosion which had ripped through Centennial Park which killed one spectator and wounded 111 others.

As a sports reporter, it was a wonderful experience. I spent almost three weeks in Georgia, first of all at the British training camp at Tallahassee and then I had an amazing time in Savannah where the sailing was hosted. Savannah was very typical slow and laid-back Georgia, and the bench in the town square is where the chocolate box scene in Forrest Gump was filmed.

Though there wasn't a tremendous amount of British success to report on, as a sports nut it was a privilege and a wonderful experience being close up and personal to watch the greatest sports stars in action. I don't pretend to under gymnastics, but watching the gymnasts perform their routines live was simply gob-smacking. You could have heard the preverbial pin drop in the huge auditorium at the Georgia Dome as the gymnasts performed.

I watched my heroes in action. There was Michael Johnson smashing the world record in the 200m and then before the press conference afterwards he chided a couple of journalists for wanting his autograph reminding them how they had a job to do! And at the opening ceremony, we witnessed a frail-looking Muhammad Ali light the Olympic flame.

I didn't bother to apply for Olympic tickets next year. I've been there, done it, and what I would say is that when you are in the midst of the Olympic Games you exist in a goldfish bowl, almost oblivious to other events going on around you. Television will inevitably give you the best coverage and perspective, but there can be no substitute for actually being there.

One friend told me the other week how he had managed to get tickets for the athletics heats after going online just before 6am shortly before the second roll-out of tickets last month. He isn't bothered that the tickets are not for the finals, but it is about being there, and being able to take his children to this once in a lifetime experience.

What is scandalous is some of the huge mark-ups some of the hotels are offering for ticket and overnight packages. The whole Olympic ticket distribution is a complete mess. Today, there is a story how British fans trying to buy Olympic tickets abroad are being charged a delivery fee, almost 10 times the amount continental Europeans are being charged by the UK. In competition law no country in the EU can discriminate against applications based on their nationality.
       
In a year's time, these hassles will be long forgotten as London welcomes the 30th Olympiad. Hopefully it will be a legacy we can be proud of.