The first
action of the London 2012 Olympic Games was the Woman’s Football, and the first
game kicked off at 4pm yesterday at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff New Zealand 1-0 and
Brazil beating Cameroon
At the bar,
the prominent taps were dispensing Olympic-sponsor beer products. So, looking
for something to drink, we spotted some taps at the end labelled generically
“ale” and “cider.” As non-sponsor products cannot be identified by name, lest
it be deemed advertising, this seemed hopeful. We anticipated a pint of Brains,
the beer that usually flows from these taps, produced by the brewery that is
just a stones-throw from the Millennium Stadium. However, it was not to be.
“Ale” is John Smiths (£4.10 pint) and “cider” is Strongbow (this will be the
case at all Olympic venues). Alcoholic drinks could only be consumed in the bar
area and not taken to the seats.
At the food
outlet, things were dominated by Olympic-sponsor soft drink products. On the food
menu where bacon baguette (£5.50), Steak pie, Cheese and onion pasty, noodles,
soup, sandwiches, hot or cold wraps, crisps, sweets and Olympic-sponsor
chocolates. Most of the food was in the £4 to £6 range.
There were
big queues for the food between the two games. By the time we approached the
food outlet at half-time of the second game, all the food had sold out. People
were buying small tubs of official-sponsor crisps (£2) and sweets to keep them
going.
So, it was
a fantastic sporting event that was thoroughly enjoyed by all the family. The
staff and stewards at the Millennium Stadium were very polite, helpful and
efficient. However, the food and drink on offer was a little disappointing.
Meanwhile,
local businesses in the vicinity of the Stadium who tried to benefit from any
Olympic association were pulled up by Locog’s “Brand Police”, a continuation of
the heavy-handed treatment of independent cafes and sandwich bars seen during
the Torch Relay. Taste on the High Street, for instance, had to change the name
of one of their sandwiches. Even Michael Payne, a former marketing director at the International Olympic
Committee, has said over-zealous enforcement of brand protection risks damaging
the Games image (see link below).
The tickets
come with the written promise: “There’s a variety of healthy and tasty food for
you inside the venue.” This covers all the venues and in particular the main London Cardiff has whetted our appetite for our next Olympics
experience, which will be in London
An Olympic
Diet: Part One:
Independent
article on Olympic brand-protection:
Taste, Cardiff
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