Live Nation Dumping Food at Olympics / Paralympics

FOOD AND WATER BANNED FROM BTLIVE EVENTS FOR OLYMPICS / PARALYMPICS

Welcome (or not) to BTLive at the Olympics - entrance with hoards of Security Staff waiting to search bodies and bags

Sponsored by British Telecom, LOCG, Mayor of London, Royal Parks, Tower Hamlets

Dispose of ALL Food and Water - no exceptions

Loads of bins - about 50 - for food stuffs and water to be dumped into

Welcome to BTLive and the Olympics (or not)

Draconian Restrictions - not even medications in glass containers

Brief cases - ludicrous! Bikes to be left outside, likely to get nicked. Cameras can be left at the entrance - but no you wont get them back

Sports? Its the Olympics FGS. And NO water not even in bottles less than 100ml - the sign lies

Not even guide dogs for the blind. And no food not even for specialist dietary / medical needs

Live Nation's profile on Twitter states:

"Live Nation is the future of the music business" - GHU!!

Live Nation Entertainments (based in California, USA) was given the contract to arrange the entertainment events at the London Olympics. They also own Ticketmaster which handled the ticket sales with a system that has been described by professional web designers as 'not fit for purpose' - (**) see link below.

Over the last few weeks Live Nation marketing as BTLive have reportedly upset numerous members of the public with its draconian rules for attendance at events especially BTLive with the banning of ALL home-produced or shop-bought food, and ALSO water.

The photos of the signs surrounding the Live Nation compounds in Victoria Park and Hyde Park leave visitors in no doubt as to how welcome they will NOT be, and the numerous draconian rules that they will be subject to.

"They make everyone including small children go through airport style security including a hand-held metal detector search and a bag x-ray."

The many large bins can be clearly seen in the photos into which perfectly good food has to be dumped, and water bottles emptied. This is at a time when there are raging famines and starvation throughout the world in Africa, the USA and elsewhere.

The security staff have also been reported as abusing festival goers in bodily searching for prohibited items, and rifling though bags. In many cases non-professional DSLR cameras were prohibited, however owners were told that they could leave them at the entrance but that they would not get them returned. In one case on Twitter a woman was told to delete images from her camera.

Here are some tweets from Twitter that are circulating around the web:

===

R... T...‏@rt...

Not sure I'm @ best place 2b - #BTLive #London2012 site at Hyde Park; like a festival; raucous, popular & scuzzy rather than nice & boutique

A... L...‏@al...

#BTlive should be ashamed of themselves allowing vendors to charge such outrageous found & drink prices

A... B...‏@ab...

#BTLive fuming after encounter with heavy handed security n marketing scam. Been frisked, searched for water n food, asked to delete photos

n... k...‏@nl...

#btlive. Biggest scam ever. Security gone mad and shameless commercialism. I thought we are celebrating the Olympics. Thanks Boris.

Ö... Ö...‏@oo...

How come btlive is not allowing people to bring in food at Victoria park when you can take anything into the Olympic park?

J... H...@TopTVCameraman

#BTLive Your morons barred my wife from entry at Hyde Park as she had a DSLR. No measurement, just a thicko's guess, stopped her seeing it.

C... M‏@cm...

Can somebody explain why you aren't allowed liquids over 100ml into #BTlive?! It's not a bloody plane!

S... B...‏@SB...

Live Nation bans food & drink at BTLive events yet LOCOG allows reasonable amounts to be taken into Olmpic venues. Why the difference?

S... B...‏@SB...

@TopTVCameraman#BTLive - HydePark - banned from entering w. DSLR. Could leave @ entrance, but no I wouldn't get it back.

===

Links:

Evening Standard

Olympic News - London 2012 -Why are festival organisers banning home made sandwiches from 'free' events in Hyde Park and Victoria Park?

Tweets from Twitter

Pi$$ed off people on Twitter

Please sign this petition

Petition to tell Live Nation (BTLive) & London Olympics (LOCOG) to stop dumping food and water

(**) Usability Hell -- The Olympics / Paralympics Ticketing Website

Described as 'not fit for use' by many professionals.

Live Nation's 'War on terror and sandwiches in Victoria Park'

Another expose of Live Nation's / BTLive's dumping of food and water for the Olympics events