London 2012 ceremonies sold out after surge for tickets
Ticket
applications for next year’s London Olympics far exceeded supply with
more than half of the 650 sessions oversubscribed and going to a
ballot, organisers said on Wednesday.
The showcase
opening and closing ceremonies were among those events declared sold
out, with early indications showing that more than 20 million tickets
were applied for and only 6.6 million on offer.
Some 1.8 million
people, more than 95 percent of them British residents eager to be part
of a once-in-a-lifetime home Games, made requests in the six-week
window up to Tuesday’s midnight deadline.
Organisers, who
kept the ticketing website open for an extra hour after a late surge in
demand brought it to a standstill, said applications were received for
every session and every sport in every price range.
“We are thrilled
with the response right across the board, in all sports and all
sessions,” said LOCOG chairman Sebastian Coe in a statement.
“Certain events
have seen massive demand–for example the opening ceremony, which is
more than 10 times oversubscribed–so there will understandably be
disappointment and we will find a way to go back to those people with
other tickets.”
Soldout events
Organisers said
track cycling, rhythmic gymnastics, triathlon, modern pentathlon,
equestrian (cross country) and the opening and closing ceremonies were
sell-out events.
All will go to ballot, as will most of the sessions for swimming and tennis.
LOCOG said they
would now check and de-duplicate applications before running the
ballots to determine who got tickets. Money will then be taken from
accounts from May 10 with customers receiving confirmation in June of
what events they have tickets for.
Unsuccessful applicants will be given further chances in June and July to buy unallocated tickets.
“What is most
encouraging is that the majority of applications are for multiple
tickets and for several sports, which shows that friends and family are
planning to go to the Games together,” said Coe.
Organisers hope to raise about 400 million pounds from ticket sales.
Leave a Reply