Comments on: Inside the Fan Zone: Corporate control at Euro 2012 http://www.redpepper.org.uk/inside-the-fan-zone-corporate-control-at-euro-2012/ Red Pepper Wed, 18 Sep 2013 17:39:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6.1 By: Mark http://www.redpepper.org.uk/inside-the-fan-zone-corporate-control-at-euro-2012/#comment-62620 Mark Tue, 26 Jun 2012 15:46:02 +0000 http://www.redpepper.org.uk/?p=7820#comment-62620 I wasn’t suggesting the Le Tour is immune from the corporatisation but the fact it is free to watch from the road or mountain side significantly reduces the sponsors control. At Euro 2012 we even have the riduculous sight of ‘Fan Zones’., I’ve just passed through Lviv on my way home, this beautiful city’s centre fenced off for Cocal Cola, Carlsberg, Sharp, McDonalds to exclusively sell their wares in such a zone.

An Olympics built around free-to-wach events of the sort of city centre marathons, a multi stage cycling race, a round Britain yachting race etc would be cheaper to put on, free to watch and break the grip of the corporate sponsors. In short, a better Games for all.

Mark P

]]> By: Michael Kenny http://www.redpepper.org.uk/inside-the-fan-zone-corporate-control-at-euro-2012/#comment-61754 Michael Kenny Sun, 24 Jun 2012 13:33:10 +0000 http://www.redpepper.org.uk/?p=7820#comment-61754 Good point, but it should be said that the idea that the Tour de France is somehow “clean” is rather naive. The difference with football or the Olympics is merely that bicycle races take place mostly on public roads, as, for example, do car rallies, so that sponsorship has to work differently. In the Tour, for example, most of the teams are known by their sponsors’ names. Equally, soccer football is exceptional both because of the really vast audience it commands and the fact that is is played literally worldwide. If you compare it with Gaelic football, which is hardly played at all outside of Ireland, you’ll see the difference.
The real problem with the Olympics is that, essentially, the host state pays the bills but the Olympic committees, both national and international, pocket the profits. Increasingly, the Games have proved to be a financial disaster for the countries that hosted them (Greece, for example!). It will be interesting to see where that leaves Britain this time next year.

]]>