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Commonwealth Games Federation President Michael Fennell has expressed concern on the low turnout of spectators in the stadiums. Fennell has urged the organisers to ensure that there are more spectators to cheer the sportspersons. "There is one area which causes us some concern, and we have discussed it with the organizers and they are reviewing that, is that yesterday it was quite clear that a number of venues did not have a lot of spectators. We haven't done a complete audit with all the venues but we do know that this was so in a few, and we are working with the Organising Committee on that, and they themselves are very conscious about the situation," Fennell said at a news conference on Tuesday. Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, Suresh Kalmadi, said about 600,000 of the 1.5 million tickets available for the 12 days of the games had been sold and the organizers were considering letting the school children come in and watch the events in an effort to fill up the stadiums. Fennell said the games needed to reach out to as many people as possible. "So that's the one area for which we are concerned because this is an Organising Committee matter. As a Games, we like to know that the seats are filled. Of course, just one element of the whole thing, of course, the television coverage and other reports, which the news media helps to broadcast the Games and the results of the games, but for the athletes and for ourselves we do like to see spectators' seats filled," said Fennell. Fennell said the Games had got off to a nice start after being affected with a series of problems in the run up to the event, but reserved the final verdict until the end of the event. "I have already indicated that we are very happy with the start. We have a number of days yet of competition and, as I have said in other places, that it's not over till it's over," Fennell added later. Meanwhile, Kalmadi brushed aside a string of problems like transport, lack of spectators, food and security delays and said everything would be resolved within 24 hours. "The Games Village has been appreciated by all the athletes. Now it's almost trouble-free. Issues will always be there and that's why we have a meeting everyday, and whatever the issues which come up in the Games Village are transferred to GTMG (Games Time Monitoring Group) and there we sort out all the matters, like there were problems with transport, so today we have solved the problems of transport, entirely," said Kalmadi.

Low turnout of spectators causes concern to CWG President Fennell