Outrage Over Empty Seats

Olympic organizers have resorted to giving soldiers and schoolchildren free tickets to the London Games in order to fill many empty seats. Locals watching the games from home over the weekend were none too pleased to see rows left vacant at some of the most popular sporting events, sparking controversy over the use (or lack thereof) of the tickets given to corporate sponsors. London’s culture secretary announced that the Olympic organizing committee was “doing a full investigation into what happened.” Meanwhile the International Olympic Committee’s communications director has made sure to place blame for the open seats on no one in particular. “I think it is wrong—completely wrong—to say this is a sponsor issue,” he said.