Warrant for Ticket Scam; Cameron Urges Olympic Boost

(ATR) Canadian Police are searching for a man accused of $60,000 of fraudulent ticket sales for the Vancouver Olympics.

A national arrest warrant was issued for Sean McConnell Stuart by West Vancouver police for fraud over $5,000, fraud under $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime.

Stuart is accused of selling tickets to high-profile events for the 2010 Games, despite not being a licensed vendor, then taking customers money and fleeing Vancouver, without delivering tickets.

Twenty six people have reportedly notified police of the scam. Victims were located in Canada, Croatia and the United States.

He started his operation in December of 2008 on Craigslist and Kijiji, the Canadian version of eBay.

Cameron Urges Olympic Tourism Boost

British PM David Cameron says the country should use the Olympics as a way to boost tourism in the United Kingdom.

Cameron urged tourism professionals to rise to the challenge on Wednesday to them at a reception.

"This year and next will see the eyes of the world focused on Britain as never before," Cameron was quoted by Reuters.

"A royal wedding, Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee and of course the London Olympic and Paralympic Games offer us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, not just for national pride and celebration, but also to promote this country as the perfect tourist destination".

He apparently wants to make the UK more attractive to tourists from Asia and Latin America.

Olympic Bid Expert Leads Stadium Campaign

Olympic bid expert Mike Lee will lead Tottenham Hotspurs’ campaign to become the tenants of London’s Olympic Stadium following the Games.

The Spurs are running against rival football club West Ham for the rights to use the stadium.

Lee led the Rio de Janeiro and London bids for the 2016 and 2012 Olympics. He is also a former West Ham board member.

A decision on which club will become the stadium’s occupant is expected by the end of the month.

...Briefs

...VANOC vice president of strategy and partnerships Taleeb Noormohamed hopes to run for a seat in Canada’s House of Commons. The 34 year old is seeking the Liberal party’s nomination to run against Andrew Saxton in a North Vancouver seat. "If there’s one lesson we learned from the Games, it’s how you get communities, people, individuals excited about something," Noormohamed by the QMI News Agency. "There’s a lot to be excited about in North Van." An election is rumored to be possible, potentially taking place in the spring.

...Sports consulting firm TSE will open an office in Rio de Janeiro. The new office will be set up within Dream Factory, a Brazilian event management company. According to TSE, the office will help citiesand regions in South America to "benefit from the current investment and growing focus of international sport on the region". Lars Haue-Pedersen, Managing Director of TSE Consulting, said: "Brazil is obviously a very interesting and developing market for us. Our sports performance team is already working with the Brazilian NOC in their preparations for 2016 and we have high expectations for future opportunities in the region. We believe the well established Dream Factory is a perfect partner for TSE."

Media Watch

A blog post at Creative Review examines the Rio 2016 logo.

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Written by Ed Hula III.