Half empty stadiums at the Youth Olympic Games

Many stadiums at the Youth Olympic Games were more than half empty, although the tickets were reportedly sold out.

In the effort to look good, the organizers of the games asked the Ministry of Education to buy the tickets. The Ministry obliged and distributed them to the schools for the students to attend. Many students collected the tickets and did not show up. There is a saying "You can make a horse go the river, but you cannot force the horse to drink the water".

Why didn't the sports fans buy the tickets earlier? Typical Singapore behavior - wait for the last minute, unwilling to plan ahead, maybe can get free tickets!

This challenge has played the organizers of local sports and art events for more than a decade. I hope that our top leaders realize the challenges. They have been sheltered from the realities of the ground due to the hard work of their underlings over the years - to make things look good.

Many Singaporeans do not have time for sports, arts and leisure. They have to work hard to earn enough money to pay for the mortgages of their HDB flats and the high cost of living. The students have to study hard to get a job to pay for these things.

To lead a gracious and cultural life, one needs to earn enough to afford them. Unfortunately, this is out of reach of most ordinary people in Singapore.Not many people earn the high salaries of our government leaders and the  elites.

Tan Kin Lian