The opportunity to host a global event like the Olympics or the FIFA World Cup may initially look very attractive So everybody is fighting for them.
Living in Germany I can now see though why the people living in the hosting city (Turin) or country (Germany) often get frustrated over time. The more we learn about how (little) local business may benefit from the 'opportunity' the more we see it will be the Official Partners who will benefit the most - and local companies (like the Bavarian breweries) are more or less excluded. Also, the consumer is getting frustrated as they don't get any tickets. In the end we will all end up watching this event in front of our recently bought flatscreen at home - if you are living in the US or in Germany.
What does this mean from a marketing / PR perspective? The public should have been prepared much better on what the actual business / ticketing etc. opportunity would be this summer. The OC seems to have too much to do to get the people 'in situ' involved and excited. The disaster with the now cancelled opening show is just a good example for what I mean.
Don't get me wrong. The Germans are really happy to have been chosen as the host for the FIFA World Cup. But if the only opportunity to buy tickets is to spend Euro 55,000 (that's more than $60,000) for 10 tickets in a hospitality package (I received that offer last week), this doesn't make you a big fan.
Am I personally disappointed? Yes (I still don't have a ticket). Is this why I write this? No. I write this because it is one of the hottest topics in ANY public or private discussion I see going on at the moment. And therefore is an increasingly important national issue.
Beijing 2008, London 2012, South Africa 2010 - you all better learn from this before big business and bad preparation ruin your hig hopes.
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