A live stream is no substitute for an on-site visit
08/10/2020
"Great racing, great weather, ..." declared the track announcer via live stream and the loudspeakers around the Nürburgring where the AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix was held last weekend. For the first time, pictures were transmitted live via the Internet, probably in the hope that many fans would follow the races on their computer screens at home.
It is questionable whether many spectators did, because after all, the moving images on the LCD screen are a rather poor substitute for a visit to the event on site. But even this was not so easy from August 7 to 9, 2020. The number of spectators was limited to 5,000 per day. However, this limit was not reached at all on Saturday and, according to the track announcer, there were still free seats for Sunday, at least on Saturday evening.
The opening to spectators also came at relatively short notice, as it was only announced a few days before the event that people would be allowed to watch on site after all. Previously, it was expected that there would be no spectators at the races. And obviously the opening came too late, an unnecessary problem, as the coronavirus situation has not changed fundamentally over the last two or three weeks. And if you don't want to tolerate spectators at the OGP, then you might as well close the city centers, the danger situation doesn't seem particularly different in any case.
The fact that the AvD OGP organizers then also refused press accreditation on a large scale is likely to have a considerable impact on the post-event reporting. zwischengas.com, after all a media platform with over four million visitors a year, did not receive any accreditation despite repeated requests, so there is no review on zwischengas.com either. What a pity. The few sponsors who remained loyal to the OGP were certainly not served well.
Back to the live stream, which certainly has its charms. After all, you get perspectives from around the track and the track commentators, including motorsport legend Rainer Braun and classic car expert Johannes Hübner, did their best to convey the atmosphere and impart interesting knowledge. In addition, the live streams , which last several hours and are really well recorded, can now also be watched later on YouTube, a small advantage thanks to Corona.
