That's the motto for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. And if you can read anything into the Ts&Cs for Olympic ticket holders, that motto couldn't be further from the IOC's mind.
I'm not a big fan of the Olympics but I can understand and appreciate them. The effect they can have on a host nation and the sense of oneness they can instill on their participating countries' home soil is staggering. The life-changing effect they can have on the athletes who sacrifice so much and devote every waking hour to preparation, even more so.
For many, attending the Olympics as a spectator is just as absurd a notion as attending as an athlete. But this is the 21st century, right? Oh good. That means people will be able to see the games in a more connected and interactive way than ever before. Social networks, next generation mobile networks and the ubiquity of cheap smart phones with decent photo and video capture capabilities means that this could be the most engaging, most connected and most self-directed / self-reported Games in history. That is, unless the International Olympic Committee's legal team has anything to say about it.
Just days after it was reporting that amateur photographers were being harassed on public land by private security who have been trained to stop people from photographing Olympic sites, we learn about the Ts&Cs for Olympic ticket holders. In an absurd attempt to stop the inevitable, the lawyers for the Olympics Games have included the following.
Images, video and sound recordings of the Games taken by a Ticket Holder cannot be used for any purpose other than for private and domestic purposes and a Ticket Holder may not license, broadcast or publish video and/or sound recordings, including on social networking websites and the internet more generally, and may not exploit images, video and/or sound recordings for commercial purposes under any circumstances, whether on the internet or otherwise, or make them available to third parties for commercial purposes.
Clearly unenforceable. Clearly drivel. But also, clearly a sign of the Us and Them mentality that is still so deeply engrained within so many major corporations and media outlets. It's 2012, people. If I have to send a rider out into the night with a lattern to scream, "the future is coming here, the future is coming here" I will, but I don't know any competant horsemen...so let's skip all that and agree to get with the times, mmm'kay?
