There146;s a cure for all problems, including empty seats

There were entire sections of empty seats behind both goals at the team handball stadium on Monday. Next to them were sections packed with fans dressed in identical shirts, pounding inflated bats and being led in rehearsed cheers. That emptiness and eagerness in a single frame provided two early mysteries to these supposedly sold-out Olympics. For an Olympics running with predictable, well-mannered efficiency and few logistical snags, the most sensitive issue facing the organising committee has emerged quickly: Why all the empty seats?

And, oh, by the way, who are those uniformed cheerers so enthusiastically providing bursts of color and choreographed chaos at archery and wrestling, and most events in between? 8220;It is a challenge for us,8221; Wang Wei, executive vice president of the Beijing organising committee. Organisers thought they could provide every athlete the thrill of completely filled arenas, and provide television cameras with unending views of cheering faces. Many athletes have been thrilled to compete in front of far more fans than they are accustomed to, but nearly every event has had at least a noticeable smattering of empty seats. Most venues have been about three-quarters full, with a few filled to barely half of capacity, so volunteers have been hired to make some noise. 8220;I8217;ve been hearing people complaining about that,8221; said a 23-year-old volunteer working outside the Water Cube. 8220;As tickets are really hard to get, the fact that some of the best seats remained untaken really upset people.8221;

The volunteers declined to explain what group they represented or why they sat together in those seats. As they left, most of them discarded their cheer sticks in a trash can on the concourse, not interested in the souvenir.

In the first few days of the Olympics, clusters of Chinese fans with matching shirts and perfectly timed cheer sticks have become regular sights at many of the lower-profile venues, particularly prominent at events without Chinese competitors. They provide quick bursts of noise and an air of neutrality, showing little allegiance. They are noticeable for packing tightly into various sections of venues otherwise dotted with mismatched fans and empty seats.