1.2m applicants for London 2012 left without tickets
Nearly two thirds of the 1.9 million people who applied for London 2012 Olympics tickets were left empty-handed in the first round of sales – and events in one third of the sports have sold out.
Only 36 per cent of those who applied for tickets were successful, with 1.2 million unsuccessful applicants. Those who missed out will be given the first opportunity to buy those tickets still available when the next sales window opens next week.
Some 3m tickets were bought in the first round, and a further 2.3m will go on sale – though 1.7m of these are for Olympics football matches and 600,000 for other sports.
Many of the showcase events – 12 in total – have sold out, including the opening and closing ceremonies, cycling, diving and swimming.
However, other sporting events considered to be among the more popular still have tickets available – athletics, equestrianism, boxing and rowing among them.
London 2012 Chairman Sebastian Coe said on Friday: “We recognise that a lot of people who have as yet been unsuccessful in that application are clearly disappointed. That’s why we are absolutely determined to do everything we possibly can to get tickets to those people who missed out in the first application.
We are absolutely determined to do everything to get tickets to those who missed out in the first application. Lord Coe
“Our commitment is to get two thirds of that 1.9million people to buy a ticket for the 2012 Games if they want to – and we know they want to be there, they were involved in the application process, are mad sports fans and they want to be there.”
To meet its commitment, Locog will have to give tickets to 500,000 more people, following the 700,000 who were succesful in the first round. That means a further 700,000 will likely remain ticketless after two rounds.
Meanwhile, those who have been successful will not find out what tickets they have bought until next week. The ballot has come under criticism from the public and consumer watchdogs alike for a lack of transparency.
But unlike the first round of sales, the second batch of tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis.
And it will be an early start for them, as tickets go on sale from 6am on 24 June until 6pm on 3 July 2011.
When that window closes, those who received tickets in the first round but are after more will get another opportunity.
However, those who did not apply for tickets at all will have to wait for the next general sale of tickets, likely to be in November or December this year.
Of the 8.8 million tickets to the Olympic Games, 6.6 million are available to the general public.
Sold out
• Opening and closing ceremonies
• Badminton
• Cycling
• Cycling track
• Diving
• Gymnastics
• Pentathlon
• Shooting
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Triathlon
• Water polo
Still available
• Archery
• Athletics
• Basketball
• Beach Volleyball
• Boxing
• Canoeing
• Equestrian
• Fencing
• Football
• Handball
• Hockey
• Judo
• Rowing
• Sailing
• Synchronised Swimming
• Table Tennis
• Taekwondo
• Volleyball
• Weightlifting
• Wrestling – Freestyle
• Wrestling – Greco–Roman