Brekkie Boy

Would there though? Along with the question over locals being able to attend, with all the uncertainty and terror alerts beforehand, the foreigners were not exactly encouraged to make the trip either. It means the tickets weren't actually physically printed. Had to laugh though today at another of the Indian organisers just flat out denying they'd been a problem with attendance, and saying thousands of people were queuing up to get into venues - there just weren't enough ticket booths to enable them to actually get in! Be interesting to see how full the main stadium is for the next couple of nights - if they ever get the in-field sorted!

It would take a long time before India can convince anyone they're capable of hosting even a small multi-sport event, never mind the Olympics - or indeed Commonwealths - again. Just a farce from beginning to end.

Another thing to add to Delhi's disasters - the 10m Diving Board, well, isn't 10m high! It's allegedly 10.7m high! You really couldn't make it up - indeed Delhi is providing all the material necessary for the BBC's forthcoming spoof on the organising of London 2012. And I don't think anyone has even mentioned how the Mens 4x100m relay had to be delayed today while debris was being cleared out of the pool! On the positive though, the medal ceremonies are hilarious!

According to the swimming commentators on the BBC it's not a case of tickets not being sold - it's a case of tickets not being printed. Friends of there's had tried to get tickets but they literally didn't have the tickets to sell.

In someways better to delay coverage with each break rather than cut chunks out. You'd think though ceremony organisers would do something similar to Eurovision and plan filler segments (like the India promo we saw) where ads can be put in without missing anything crucial. And you just knew they couldn't get to the end without Jai Ho. BBC bored now though and decided to talk over it so they can rush to a conclusion.

This is more like it, though all more cultural than out and out entertaining. Isn't the balloon just serving the same purpose as the thing that was in the middle of the Vancouver stadium for being projected on.

Does every speaker really need to name check the entire audience! And LOL @ Prince Charles - doing exactly the same as the Queen does and getting the message to read out of their pocket once the baton arrives!

Looks like this ceremony is in danger of coming in under the two hour mark!

Thought that would be where you get the ads. You only missed a two minute promo for India anyway! BBC commentary, like Beijing, is awful. Huw Edwards, along with Steve Cram and their Asian Correspondent, basically talked through the entire thing - Hazel Irvine was much better in Vancouver. They need a serious rethink for London and return to just one commentator, perhaps bringing in a second for the athletes parade to provide the facts.

Are Australia, New Zealand and Canada anchoring from their respective countries like the BBC, or are any braving it out in Delhi? Must say the BBC coverage seems to lost a lot by being in a studio in London rather than in the city itself. Also like Beijing Huw Edwards and co. ruining the ceremony by just talking through it - they need a serious rethink for London.

Obviously the BBC's word isn't gospel, despite what some might say, but interesting yesterday how their Asia correspondent was saying the Indian press was pretty much leading the criticism of the organising committee (for bringing shame on the country etc.) rather than just passing off the criticism as "Western bias" as the OC have tried to do.

P.S. I don't suppose there is a site similar to the eurovisionsports.tv/olympics site with all available streams of coverage on?

According to morethanthegames.co.uk the whole media system hasn't gone live yet, so don't know if netball is facing similar problems to tennis in people don't know who they're playing or when. Also seems a lot of workers, including VIP chauffeurs, going on strike over conditions and pay. The BBC preview thought was pretty good and without glossing over the issues fairly positive. How these games could have been lifted though just with the presence of Usain Bolt. I know he never intended to go, but the presence of arguably the most famous Olympian of the moment would really have helped shift the focus onto the sport.

The BBC's coverage looks to be relatively poor this year on network TV at least. Yes, Sky viewers will get the 5-6 streams (Freeview viewers only get an extra one, and no replay at night), but on BBC1/2 themselves there is as little as 7 hours of live coverage a day, with no early morning live coverage of the swimming and athletics heats. They're not even showing the marathon live on network television. Although this obviously compares favourably with Canada, compared to PRIME and Ten down under it falls short of their 12-16 hours of network TV coverage a day, and indeed compared to previous games is a notable downsizing of coverage.

Next weeks strike has been called off, so coverage won't be affected.

He's showing he's as bad as the Indian organisers by taking no responsibility at all. He has to go!

I assume Sky Sports in NZ is part of the Murdoch empire, so will it share a lot of it's coverage with Foxtel in Australia, who are offering six channels. Ten is the FTA broadcaster, with ONE simulcasting in HD and showing additional coverage when Ten shows the news from 5-6pm. And the BBC as ever is the broadcaster in the UK. Coverage will be anchored in London, though morning heats in swimming and athletics will only be on the red button. Live coverage begins around 8/9am, with highlights from the heats and during the first week, the Track cycling finals. Live coverage continues until Commonwealth Games Report at 5pm, with daily highlights at 7pm. However, a 48-hour strike is planned by BBC staff on 5th/6th October which could hit coverage.

You know when people bring race into it they've lost the argument. If these things weren't there for the Western media to find, they couldn't be reported.

That seemed to be the next obvious concern - can the people of Delhi actually afford to go, and with foreign supporters pretty much discouraged in the Western media at least, empty seats seem an inevitability.

Hasn't the Baton been on the road for well over a year for some ridiculous reason. Think they definately need to look at scaling that back!

So turns out Indian's standard of hygiene aren't that different after all then!

Wonder if they all knew this and the big Western "white" nations all made a fuss in order to get the best apartments! Feeling more positive about the event now compared to a few days ago - though the fact remains the village should have been 100% ready at least a fortnight or so out from the games for athletes arriving to take part.

Have we had any reports on the facilities for the media? It looks like the BBC aren't risking it (though a decision made prior to this weeks news) considering the main hosts are in the UK fronting Ryder Cup coverage on Sunday, then hosting Delhi coverage on Monday. (Presumably though even though the presenters and studio aren't in Delhi, they'll have commentators and reports there.) (Presumably though even though the presenters and studio aren't in Delhi, they'll have commentators and reporters there.)

There is a huge difference though. Every report on the lead up to Delhi 2010 has (for years) said they are behind schedule, whilst every report I've seen on London says they're well ahead of schedule. Plus of course the IOC won't turn up a week before the games to see if everything is finished.

The CBC schedule: http://www.cbc.ca/commonwealthgames/schedule/streaming-broadcast.html