Owen Gibson 

London 2012: loud music makes the Games even better, insist organisers

Spectators complain that high-intensity dance soundtrack detracts from athletics, but Locog defend decision
  
  

Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba celebrates
To a thunderous soundtrack, Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba celebrates winning the women's 10,000m final. Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

London 2012 organisers have said they wlll review the use of loud music in the main stadium during the Games, but are confident that they have got the level "about right".

During Saturday's women's 10,000m final, won by reigning champion Tirunesh Dibaba, there were some complaints that the pumping dance music soundtrack was detracting from the action. But a spokeswoman for the London 2012 organising committee said that the use of music had been cleared by the international federations and that it had received "loads of really positive feedback" about the atmosphere in the venues.

The London organising committee has worked hard on the way that sport is presented at the Olympics in order to draw in casual and dedicated fans alike.

At a briefing ahead of the Games, it said that it intended to use music, presenters and films to help explain the sports and deliver an entertaining experience."In terms of the music, I think we have the level right but if you are saying that people are not liking it then, of course, we will have a look at it, but we have actually had loads of really positive feedback about the atmosphere and the music in the venue," she said.

It has worked with Universal Music to divide 2,000 plus songs into five distinct playlists that are themed to provide the most appropriate soundtrack to each sport.

Artists including The Smiths, New Order, Florence and the Machine and Groove Armada have boomed out in the stadium over the first two days of action, but there was a bias towards bass heavy dance music for Saturday's finals.

Patrick Baumann, the general secretary of the international basketball federation, said that the use of music didn't deter the athletes. "Personally I maybe agree that it is loud but that is a personal view. The spectators really love it. It does not bother the players and the athletes, they are playing the game," he said. "It is amazing how the spectators are participating in the game, and I think it was the right choice."

He said that at the basketball the music and the "kiss cam" had gone down well with spectators. "They like singing English songs which are known worldwide, and I think that is really good. It brings more to their experience. It has been excellent, and certainly better than what we had in the past," he said.

 

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