POSTED: June 18th 2011
NewsUpdate
Coe sorry for fans who failed in 2012 ballot but urges them to keep trying
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT / Sports Features Communications
LONDON, Jun 18: Lord Sebastian Coe has sympathised with all those who failed to land any tickets at all for the London 2012 Olympic Games in the first round of balloting - while LOCOG appeared to be offering more of the same later in the year.
Some 1.2m people - nearly two thirds of the 1.9m applicants - missed out in the first round of sales. Only 700,000 - 36pc -were successful. Those who missed out will be given the first opportunity to buy those tickets still available when the next sales window opens at 6am on June 24.
But many of those tickets are in the high-price categories and purchase will not be through a ballot but through the internet lottery of a first-come/first-served sales basis.
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 'only' 600,000 for other sports.
LOCOG chairman Coe said: "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.
"Our commitment is to get two thirds of that 1.9m 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."
All applicants should have found out by email on Friday whether they had been successful or not. But even though people told they have been successful will not be able to find out exactly which tickets they have until Friday, June 24.
The emails to the 1.2million unsuccessful says: "We would like to invite you to take advantage of an exclusive opportunity to purchase some of the remaining tickets, in advance of those customers who were allocated tickets in the initial application phase.
"From 6am on 24 June until 6pm on 3 July 2011 you will be able to request some of the remaining tickets on the London 2012 ticketing website."
Public minority
The men's 100m final session attracted 1.3million applications - but only 30,000 of the 80,000 seats at the stadium will be sold to the British public. The rest of the stadium will be made up of a further 30,000 tickets given to sponsors, hospitality, international sales, international sporting federations, and the rest to the media and people with Olympic accreditation.
Demand was so high it meant there were 62 applications for every ticket available.
Successful applicants were told:
We are delighted to confirm that you have been allocated some or all of the London 2012 Olympic Games tickets you applied for. You have been charged only for the tickets you have been allocated.
We are currently updating your account. We will be in touch prior to 24 June 2011 to confirm the details of which tickets you have been allocated.
We had an overwhelming response for Olympic Games tickets, with 1.9 million people applying for more than 20 million tickets. We are sorry if you did not receive all of the tickets you applied for - across all sports, two-thirds of price categories were oversubscribed and went to ballot.
However, there will be further opportunities to purchase tickets between now and the Games.
This starts with an opportunity for you to request some of the remaining tickets from 6am on 8 July to 6pm on 17 July 2011. These tickets will be allocated on a first come, first served basis and cover a great range of Olympic sports Download the full list of available sports
During this second chance sales window you will only be able to submit one application, and you will be able to apply for a maximum of three sessions.
Once you submit, you will receive an email confirming your application. We will advise you which tickets you have been allocated within 24-48 hours, subject to successful payment. All payments will be taken between 18 and 21 July 2011.
Keywords · London 2012 · tickets · Coe · Deighton
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Laura Walden ()
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