Rio 2016 Will ‘fill The Stadiums’

Rio de Janeiro’s 2016 Olympic Games organisers have promised their event will see fewer empty seats than London 2012, adding that a ‘fill the stadiums’ plan will be put in place to avoid large areas of unused seating.

Following Beijing’s struggle to fill its venues four years ago, London 2012 has faced similar issues.

London 2012 organisers have negotiated with international federations on a daily basis in a bid to reclaim seats for the public. 

With thousands of fans unable to secure tickets during the build-up to the Games, the sight of empty seating in Olympic stadia has caused outraged, with the situation attributed to Games officials and athletes’ friends and family not using their accredited seating.

Addressing the issue of filling sports venues, Rio 2016 chief executive Leonardo Gryner told reporters: ‘We will be able to have a much better result in Rio than London has had so far. We are trying to radically reduce the problem of empty seats.’

‘It is not a problem exclusively in London, but for all organising committees. We have a programme called ‘fill the stadiums’ and some ideas to keep stadiums full at all times. There are several mechanisms that will be put into place. We hope to be better than London but it is not an easy challenge.’