Locog threaten 2012 ticket resellers who claim use of 'Olympic Games lanes'

[richard]

London 2012 Olympic Games organisers have threatened to take strong action against their two official ticket resellers if allegations are proven that they have been offering access to the Olympic traffic lanes as part of their hospitality packages.

On Monday's Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, former employees of Thomas Cook and Jet Set Sports were broadcast explaining that access in the Olympic Games lanes – 39 miles of inner London road restricted to the athletes, officials, media and sponsors – was available as part of their hospitality packages.

The Telegraph first queried Jet Set Sports including Games lane access in its packages two years ago, and at the time Locog claimed they did not have access.

When asked if Games lane access was included in the packages Jet Set Sports president Mark Lewis told The Daily Telegraph in 2010: "Typically yes, but Locog has been still formulating the transport plan and have to fit in with what that plan is.”

On Monday night, Locog insisted that the ticket resellers, who have around 200,000 Olympic tickets, cannot sell access to the Games lanes despite the claims on Channel 4.

A spokeswoman said: “We are really clear. If we have evidence they are selling things they can’t sell we will take immediate and appropriate action. Neither Thomas Cook nor Jet Set Sports can sell access to Games lanes. They don’t have the right to do it.”

Last year we revealed the official ticket resellers had paid Locog around £40 million for the right to on-sell four per cent of Olympic tickets in high-priced hospitality packages and lower cost short break domestic packages.

Dispatches sent undercover reporters posing as agents for wealthy foreign clients to Jet Set Sports and Thomas Cook and found they claimed to include travel on the Games lanes in their top-end packages.

Thomas Cook’s Head of Olympic Trip Packages at their agency Iluka, Peter Moore, told the reporters a six-night package for 23 people to top events like the men’s 100m final and the cycling cost £450,708, which included accredited coach travel on the Olympic route network at any time whether attending an event or not.

“We have accredited coaches which will travel on the Olympic route network and dedicated drop off and pick up points at the venues,” he said.

“For the whole time ... they’ll have the accreditation on the right in front of the window, so we’ll be on those lanes whenever we want.” Cook said the access was secret because of the press scrutiny.

“As you have seen in the papers, there’s, there have been so much, so many issues with these Olympic lanes, and to be honest with you, we need to keep it really quiet, um because we can’t really be saying that we have access to it, because people will say oh well you can buy your way on to the Olympic lanes.”

Jet Set Sport’s Richard Relton also claimed privileged access on the Olympic lanes.

“The key is the Olympic Lane Network,” he told the programme. “Our guys will travel in the official vehicles, which is important, so it gets you to the closest drop-off point, through the first and different areas of security.”

In a statement, Thomas Cook say Moore is an employee of Iluka and that his views are personal and do not reflect those of Thomas Cook Plc.

Jet Set told Dispatches that Relton is no longer an employee and had given inaccurate information.

Jet Set also acts as an official agent for some of the biggest Olympic sponsors and through those deals has access to the Olympic Lanes. Thomas Cook is also a tier-two sponsor and through that association also has some access to the lanes, but cannot sell that access in tickets to the public.


Source
By Jacquelin Magnay, Olympics Editor
www.telegraph.co.uk

[richard]

Nothing really surprised me in tonights episode of Dispatches. It was to be expected that there would be some creative ticket deals going on, and true to form, it was revealed tonight.

The real shame in all of this is that this country has descended to such poor levels of standards that we now accept this abysmal type of behaviour as the norm for large corporations and politicians alike. Has this country really become a banana republic?

To anyone who missed tonights episode of Dispatches 'Olympic Tickets for sale' according to my Sky+ app, it's being shown again tomorrow morning at 2am on Channel 4 and one hour later on Channel 4 +1