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Going to the Olympics? Not if you’re wearing a comically oversized hat you’re not. And don’t expect to take your pet iguana in with you — even if it does look a bit like Mandeville.
LOCOG, the Games’ organising body, has published a list of prohibited and restricted items that Games-goers should absolutely avoid taking to venues — unless you want to be rugby-tackled to the tarmac by a tetchy paratrooper.
What’s all this got to do with gadgets? you may well ask. Alongside the usual no-nos of firearms, knives and bayonets (okay, bayonets are a little less usual), the London Olympics organising committee is vetoing wireless hotspots.
That’s right — while you can take your shiny smart phone and tablet in with you, you can’t, under any circumstances, utilise its Wi-Fi hotspot feature to allow multiple devices to get online. So if you were planning on setting up a hotspot named ‘What do Coke and chips have to do with athletics anyway?’ expect to be unceremoniously ejected by a trigger-happy beefcake.
Other tech kit you absolutely shouldn’t be taking to the beach volleyball includes walkie-talkies, phone jammers and radio scanners; laser points and strobe lights; and anything too big to be electronically screened — so don’t try and lug your 15-year-old desktop PC behemoth along with you either. Not even to use as a seat height booster.
I’d like to think LOCOG has banned wireless hotspots to ensure the maximum number of people at the Games are able to get a smidgen of 3G action. After all, the chances of more than a handful of fans finding enough 3G to get online — let alone with multiple gizmos — is about as likely as Olympics ticketholders being allowed to set up a pop-up shop inside the stadium selling Pepsi and bayonets.
Indeed, here in Southwark, I’ve just been to see the Olympic torch pass by CNET Towers and was unable to post any tweets before, during or after the flame went past all our lofted smart phones and craned necks. T-Mobile’s network was visibly creaking under the strain of dozens of officeworkers digitally griping about how they couldn’t see anything.
On LOCOG’s restricted list are “large photographic and broadcast equipment over 30cm in length”, which means camera lovers should be careful about how much pro kit they bring in. And take pains to look as unprofessional as possible — commercial photography is banned unless you’re ‘accredited media’.
Are you going to the games? If so, what tech will you be taking inside with you? Let us know in the comments below or tell us all about it over on our Facebook page.
