Wang Yuanyuan
ENTERTAINMENT venues in Shenzhen are suffering the effects of the Olympics as people choose to stay at home to watch the world’s largest sporting event.
Turnover in some entertainment venues, such as karaoke bars, discos and cinemas, has fallen 50 percent compared with usual business.
“Since the opening of the Olympics Games, we lost nearly half our customers each day. Even on the weekends, many rooms were left empty, which rarely happens at normal times,” a staff member of a Coobie Dragon KTV club surnamed Xie said yesterday.
Discos have also been affected. Bars like Face and Richy in Luohu District, two of the most popular in Shenzhen, are seeing more than one-third of their tables empty every night. “This never happened before, especially during the weekends. Normally the bar is so full that there’s no space to stand,” a Face waiter surnamed Chen said.
Even cinemas have been virtually deserted this August, which is usually their busiest time of year. “Some 50 percent fewer customers are coming each day compared with normal times. On the night of the Games’ opening ceremony, we sold a 70-yuan (US$7) ticket for 20 yuan, but there were still no customers,” a manager surnamed Zhao at Nanguo Cineplex in Luohu District said.
“Whether customers can watch the Games in the venues is the key to maintaining business,” manager of the Baby K KTV in Luohu District surnamed Li said yesterday. “Most customers call to ask if they can watch the Games while singing. Our KTVs are always prepared for events like this, so business during the Olympics has been much better than others.” But she admitted that there had still been a slight decrease in the number of customers.
Pubs with big screens have been very busy since the start of the Olympics. “People like to watch the Games with their friends and have a beer. They feel happier watching the Games with friends or even strangers as they can share the moment, so our business has been really good during the Olympics,” said Crystal, the manager of a bar named Crystal in Futian District.