2012 Olympics and How to Score Tickets

The BBC offers us a Q & A on how to acquire tickets for next year's snooze fest:

The window for buying tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Games will open on 15th March 2011.

How can I get tickets? First you need to register your interest on the London 2012 website. So far, more than two million people have done so.

Does that mean I will get tickets when they go on sale? No, the point of registering is that you will have access to important information about the process for getting tickets and London 2012 says it saves time re-entering your details.

When do the tickets go on sale? Tickets go on sale on 15 March 2011.

So can buy my tickets on that day? No, it's not first come, first served as it would be if you wanted to buy tickets to see Madonna. The application process will be open for six weeks until 26 April, with any over-subscribed tickets allocated via a ballot system. It doesn't matter if you apply the day the applications open or last day before the deadline.

How much will the tickets cost? It depends on what you want to see. Seats for the coveted 100 m final will set you back up to £725 but tickets for many sports start at £20.

Organisers London 2012 say there is a wide range of prices across the 39 disciplines and 649 sports sessions with 90% of tickets at £100 or less, two-thirds under £50 and about 25% at £20 or less.

Children under 16 will be eligible to "pay their age" across more than 200 sessions and tickets for over-60s will be £16 at the same events.

Events like the marathon, road cycling and the triathlon will be free for at least part of the route.

Check this PDF for ticket prices for each sport.

Will there be a limit to the number of tickets I can buy?

More details about ticket limits will be announced between now and 15 March when the application process opens. Sessions which are in great demand may have limits to how many tickets you can apply for.

What we do know at this stage is there will be 8.8m tickets available for the Olympic Games alone (with a further two million available for the Paralympic Games, which go on sale later this year).

Some 75% of the tickets are available to the general public via the application process. The remaining 25% is a combination of tickets for worldwide fans (through global National Olympic Committees), sponsors and rights holders who provide the funds to stage the Games and finally hospitality and travel packages.

The organisers say "prestige hospitality tickets" will account for less than one per cent of tickets on sale.

What is a session? Each ticket is sold for a specified session which may include several events, for example a session of swimming may include several heats and races.

Most tickets cannot be used to watch all the events taking place at a venue on a given day, just the specific session for which the ticket has been purchased.

Can I pay by cash or debit card?
 
In recognition of Visa's support of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, London 2012 will only accept Visa payment cards (debit, credit and prepaid) along with cash and cheques.

I don't have a Visa card so how can I pay?
 
London 2012 will accept cash and cheques. While you are at an Olympic venue you will have pay for things using a Visa card or cash only.

When will the sport event schedule be available so I can plan what to watch?
 
This is expected to be published in February 2011 although a draft schedule is already available.

Will there be any free events I can see?
 
Yes, there will be free events such as the marathon and road cycling where you won't need a ticket. However, it is likely London 2012 will ticket the Olympic Park to control crowd numbers.

If I can't get to London will there be anything to see outside the capital?
 
Yes, there are lots of venues outside London which will host Olympic and Paralympic events. These are: City of Coventry Stadium (football), Eton Dorney (rowing), Hadleigh Farm, Essex (mountain biking), Hampden Park, Glasgow (football), Lee Valley White Water Centre (canoe slalom), Millennium Stadium in Cardiff (football), Old Trafford in Manchester (football), St James' Park in Newcastle (football) and Weymouth and Portland in Dorset (sailing). Tickets for these venues and events wil also go on sale on 15 March 2011.

Further details about the ticketing process can be found on the London 2012 website.

Whatever happened to a simple queue up and get in?  And £725 for the 100 m final?  Daylight robbery at nearly £75/second.  So much for being an event for the man in the street.  I'm so glad I am not a fan of athletics.