Love the London 2012 atmosphere? Buy it on eBay

Loving the London Olympics but unable to be there in person or worried about feeling low when the Games end on Sunday? For those with more money than sense, there is always a solution on the Internet. Enterprising vendors, some offering a small percentage of any takings to charities, are seeking to cash in on the success of London 2012 by offering bottled ‘atmosphere’ on auction website eBay.

Bottled Olympics atmosphere available on eBay

“So you weren’t one of the lucky ones, unable to travel to London for whatever reason and soak up the exhilarating atmosphere,” says vendor mictoria. “Well maybe a little bit of that ambiance can come to you.”

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Bids were open until Sunday, “when the atmosphere goes back to normal”, with three would-be purchasers of the novelty item registering an interest with the highest at 10.50 pounds. Other vendors offering bottled Olympic air - one of them “collected at the entrance to the Olympic Park only days ago” - had yet to attract any bids, however.

One put an optimistic starting price tag of 49.99 pounds on an empty plastic water bottle that could be bought immediately for 99.99 otherwise. There was also a crumpled tissue on offer. “This was the tissue I used at the 2012 Opening Ceremony to wipe the seat with, it has some of the molecules of the Olympic atmosphere attached to it and I shall be sealing it in a plastic wallet so you can show it to your Grandchildren and so on,” declared captainjay1701.

Bidders had yet to show any interest.

Reuters