"Scores of ticket holders shut out of SEA Games closing ceremony - CNA 17 June 2015
SINGAPORE: Mdm Tan wanted to enjoy the SEA Games closing ceremony with her 10-year-old son, but it was not to be.
She arrived at about 7.10pm and was told to line up at Gate 19 for the 8pm ceremony, only to find a massive crowd outside. Officials at the gate told her to move to Gate 17 or 15. "You have to move to another gate with fewer people," she heard.
Mdm Tan moved on with her son to Gates 14, 5 and 7, only to find herself stuck outside with hundreds still. Eventually, they were told the stadium was full.
"We waited and waited and queued, but by that time it was already 8pm-plus," she said. She had a pair of complimentary tickets from a contest by sponsor GP Batteries. "It was a very bad experience. I don't understand - why give out so many complimentary tickets?"
As they were walking off, Mdm Tan and son found one gate "wide open" - Gate 20. They made it into the National Stadium, just in time to see Malaysia declared as the next host for the SEA Games. They had to stand and watch the event as all seats were taken. They decided to leave after 15 minutes.
"One word to describe my experience - 'disappointed'," she said.
A SEA Games volunteer who requested to remain anonymous told Channel NewsAsia that there were three different categories of people who could gain entry to the closing ceremony on Tuesday night - those who purchased tickets, those who held complimentary tickets, as well as pass holders, which include volunteers.
He added that while people queued to gain entry, a decision was made later to open the gates to allow spectators to stand inside. "It was an on-the-spot decision. There was no contingency plan. No one expected such a scene," he said. "Everyone just flooded in."
"You had parents with toddlers, the disabled, and the elderly who were asking, 'How come I have a ticket for Gate 19, then you pushed me to Gate 14, and then you pushed me to Gate 5?'" he said. "We didn't expect this."
The volunteer also noted that ticket holders who had trouble gaining entry for the closing ceremony arrived mostly after 7.30pm.
He added that some volunteers were being scolded by frustrated ticket holders "until they cried". "At one point, I saw a bottle being thrown," he said.
In a statement posted on the SEA Games 2015 Facebook page, the Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) said entry points needed to be adjusted on Tuesday evening as a "significant proportion of the spectators were at the gates just before the start of the ceremony".
It added that this was so spectators could be seated as quickly as possible. "Consequently, some gates had to be closed for safety reasons."
"The organising committee apologises for the inconvenience caused and disappointment of those affected. We will offer a full refund to anyone who had purchased a ticket and was unable to be seated. In addition, you will receive the supporters’ medallion," SINGSOC said.
Those who wish to contact organisers for refunds can do so via webform or at 1800 344 1177 during office hours (Mon-Fri: 9am-6pm)."
Well, the touted 'Best SHOW on earth' did not have a perfect ending. Alamak. What a pity!
Lessons for me are:
1. with the perfect 20/20 hindsight, future big event may want to have the requirement: to be seated an hour BEFORE the start time. Otherwise, they will be refused ENTRY! This can be printed on the tickets and all e-booking sites. Maybe this will prevent such unfortunate scene?;
2. last minutes decision on the ground and 'on the spot' is understandable especially when overcrowding at particular spots that threaten personal SAFETY of the people is at risk. It will be progressive to know HOW did the overcrowding develop and how can one prevent it from recurring in the future!;
3. I did not attend the Opening and Closing Ceremonies as I am not a crowd person. However, it will be helpful too to study the design of the traffic flows for the Sportshub - cars and pedestrians - to find out if the accesses and the type of accesses for the very young, the elderlies and the physically handicapped spectators can be improved further.
It would have been nice to close the touted most successful SEA Games on a perfect note. Now that it did not, just accept it and move on. The damages to those affected had been done, just try to go out-of-the-way to acknowledge them and make up to them.
SINGAPORE: Mdm Tan wanted to enjoy the SEA Games closing ceremony with her 10-year-old son, but it was not to be.
She arrived at about 7.10pm and was told to line up at Gate 19 for the 8pm ceremony, only to find a massive crowd outside. Officials at the gate told her to move to Gate 17 or 15. "You have to move to another gate with fewer people," she heard.
Mdm Tan moved on with her son to Gates 14, 5 and 7, only to find herself stuck outside with hundreds still. Eventually, they were told the stadium was full.
"We waited and waited and queued, but by that time it was already 8pm-plus," she said. She had a pair of complimentary tickets from a contest by sponsor GP Batteries. "It was a very bad experience. I don't understand - why give out so many complimentary tickets?"
As they were walking off, Mdm Tan and son found one gate "wide open" - Gate 20. They made it into the National Stadium, just in time to see Malaysia declared as the next host for the SEA Games. They had to stand and watch the event as all seats were taken. They decided to leave after 15 minutes.
"One word to describe my experience - 'disappointed'," she said.
A SEA Games volunteer who requested to remain anonymous told Channel NewsAsia that there were three different categories of people who could gain entry to the closing ceremony on Tuesday night - those who purchased tickets, those who held complimentary tickets, as well as pass holders, which include volunteers.
He added that while people queued to gain entry, a decision was made later to open the gates to allow spectators to stand inside. "It was an on-the-spot decision. There was no contingency plan. No one expected such a scene," he said. "Everyone just flooded in."
"You had parents with toddlers, the disabled, and the elderly who were asking, 'How come I have a ticket for Gate 19, then you pushed me to Gate 14, and then you pushed me to Gate 5?'" he said. "We didn't expect this."
The volunteer also noted that ticket holders who had trouble gaining entry for the closing ceremony arrived mostly after 7.30pm.
He added that some volunteers were being scolded by frustrated ticket holders "until they cried". "At one point, I saw a bottle being thrown," he said.
In a statement posted on the SEA Games 2015 Facebook page, the Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) said entry points needed to be adjusted on Tuesday evening as a "significant proportion of the spectators were at the gates just before the start of the ceremony".
It added that this was so spectators could be seated as quickly as possible. "Consequently, some gates had to be closed for safety reasons."
"The organising committee apologises for the inconvenience caused and disappointment of those affected. We will offer a full refund to anyone who had purchased a ticket and was unable to be seated. In addition, you will receive the supporters’ medallion," SINGSOC said.
Those who wish to contact organisers for refunds can do so via webform or at 1800 344 1177 during office hours (Mon-Fri: 9am-6pm)."
Well, the touted 'Best SHOW on earth' did not have a perfect ending. Alamak. What a pity!
Lessons for me are:
1. with the perfect 20/20 hindsight, future big event may want to have the requirement: to be seated an hour BEFORE the start time. Otherwise, they will be refused ENTRY! This can be printed on the tickets and all e-booking sites. Maybe this will prevent such unfortunate scene?;
2. last minutes decision on the ground and 'on the spot' is understandable especially when overcrowding at particular spots that threaten personal SAFETY of the people is at risk. It will be progressive to know HOW did the overcrowding develop and how can one prevent it from recurring in the future!;
3. I did not attend the Opening and Closing Ceremonies as I am not a crowd person. However, it will be helpful too to study the design of the traffic flows for the Sportshub - cars and pedestrians - to find out if the accesses and the type of accesses for the very young, the elderlies and the physically handicapped spectators can be improved further.
It would have been nice to close the touted most successful SEA Games on a perfect note. Now that it did not, just accept it and move on. The damages to those affected had been done, just try to go out-of-the-way to acknowledge them and make up to them.
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