I thought it was a joke

Paphos Mosaics

I thought it was a joke but apparently it is true. The morons running the Olympics in Britain are going to ‘enhance’ the games by playing music before, during and after the events – at all venues.

The Times article is whom below because you probably cannot access it without a subscription. 

So many events have now been destroyed by loud music and advertisements throughout the entire program – why not the leave the Olympics alone?

What is the matter with just watching the games? How can you ’enhance’ a race by playing music before,  during and after it?  What do you play during the  10 seconds of the 100 metres final?

They apparently have a playlist of 2,102 songs which they will play at entirely inappropriate moments to drive everyone mad. Surely if you want music at a sorting event you can take your iPod? 

If I watch any of it I can do so with the sound off but I pity the poor sods who paid through the nose to attend – what is after all – a pretty silly extravaganza.  

This has my vote for the worst idea so far this century.

"It was once the arena where — with the jarring exception of beach volleyball — you could watch the world’s best athletes perform heroics to nothing but the crack of the starting gun and the cheers of crowds.

But this year the Olympics will follow the blaring example of Champions League football, the American Superbowl and other commercial sports by using loud music to “enhance” the action.

With 30 days to go before the opening ceremony — itself set to feature an aural extravaganza created by the dance duo Underworld — London organisers unveiled their intention to “Rock the Games” with live and recorded music.

The tunes, including a specially written Olympic theme by the rock band Muse, will be pumped out before, during and after the events in all of the 34 venues, including Lord’s and Wimbledon — hosts to archery and tennis respectively, where pin-drop silence is the custom.

Selections from a giant playlist of 2,012 songs based on five themes — “energy”, “primetime”, “extreme”, “heritage” and “world stage” — will be tailored to the individual sport taking place in each venue.

The London Olympic Organising Committee (Locog) did not have a full playlist to hand but suggested that BMX might fall into the “extreme” category, with tennis more suited to “heritage” melodies.

Referring to contrasting styles of cricket, Paul Deighton, Locog’s chief executive, said: “We will be looking to identify which sports are Twenty20 and which are a Test match, and that is why we have a suite of products we can use.”

Muse were selected to write the official song, entitled Survival, which will be ringing in most people’s ears after it is played whenever athletes enter the field of play, before they accept their medals and at various times throughout the athletics sessions in the stadium.

Matt Bellamy, the lead singer of the Grammy-nominated band, said that the song was about “total conviction and pure determination to win”.

It is one of five specially commissioned tracks for the Games, including works by Sir Elton John (collaborating with the Australian dance group Pnau), Delphic, Chemical Brothers and Dizzee Rascal.

A live entertainment programme, which Mr Deighton said would have a secondary benefit of “managing the movement of crowds”, will involve surprise gigs at some venues by 13 acts, including Scissor Sisters and Rizzle Kicks. During breaks between events, spectators will also enjoy performances from the English National Ballet, military bands, DJs, cheerleaders and 3,500 roaming entertainers.

Locog insisted that the music would not detract from the sport. “It will enhance and in no way overshadow it,” Debbie Jevans, director of sport, said yesterday. “The field of play is sacrosanct and there will be silence.”

But the move is likely to divide opinion. Mark Sandell, editor of the BBC’s World Have Your Say programme, said: “For things like beach volleyball, it adds to the fun. Playing Simply the Best after the 100m final, less so.”

And as they leave their seats and head for the Tube, spectators will be bade “farewell, ciao, adieu and toodle-pip” by a host of famous faces including Charlize Theron, Gina Davis, Daniel Radcliffe and Mark Spitz.

Lord Coe, the Locog chairman and double Olympic 1,500m champion, will thank them for coming — no doubt as the strains of background music fade away."