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Boycott the Torino 2006 Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics 2006 in Torino will not start for another couple of weeks but I hate it, with a passion, already. That is a very confusing feeling for a Norwegian that loves the snow and winter sports.

Let's rewind a couple of years.

The tickets were put of for sale on the internet a few years ago on TicketOne.it. The online purchase worked OK even though they follow some weird rules I still do not understand. It was possible to buy tickets for a couple of weeks a few years ago, then later in the year, then last year etc. A major PITA for the little guy but perfect for agencies buying large batches of tickets.

But, in the end I got some (but not all) of the tickets for friends and family coming down to Italy in a  few weeks. Then it got worse. A lot worse; I had to find allocation…

All bookings must go through one central agency in Rome; Jumbo Dumbo Grande Eventi. I tried sending mails, faxes and calling them but I was completely ignored when they realized I needed a double room or two. They were, of course, interested in selling tons of places to agencies booking hundreds of rooms.

Late last year it finally got possible to book online so I booked the best one I could find. 101 km as the crow flies.

Bad got worse when I checked the so called public transportation. Non existent public transportation is more like it. The train takes 3 hours, each way, each day. The earliest train in the morning arrives at 11 something so they will miss half the events each day.

I would love to have gone for day trips but I am boycotting the events. No Torino 2006 on my TV.