The application process for tickets to the London 2012 Olympicsopened at midnight last night, with organisers expecting theofficial website to be the world's third-largest online retailportal, after eBay and Amazon.
Locog, the Games' co-ordinating committee, can only estimate howmany people will apply before the deadline on 26 April. But giventhat 2.5 million registered their interest in tickets in advance,the number of applications for individual events is likely to be inthe tens of millions.
However, organisers have been emphasising that the process is "amarathon and not a sprint", so prospective spectators should notworry about missing out on those Greco-Roman wrestling tickets.
The process is not first-come-first-served; automated ballotswill select tickets at random for oversubscribed events, and thewindow to apply runs until 26 April. There are 6.6 million ticketsfor the Olympic Games available to the British public in total. Andwith 645 sessions for 26 sports taking place at 34 venues across 19days, there is plenty of choice available.
Nevertheless, as the biggest sporting event to ever take place inthe UK, every event is expected to sell out. Even the less glamorousevents such as archery, handball and synchronised swimming are onthe wishlists of tens of thousands of people. The Korean martial artof taekwondo looks set to be a thumping big hit, and there couldeven be hearty cheers of "Britannia rules the waves" as Team GBcompetes in the water polo event at the Olympics for the first timein 56 years.
YOUR 2012 TICKET GUIDE
Where to apply for your tickets
Online at www.tickets.london2012.com or at branches of LloydsTSB. Thomas Cook will be offering a range of "Games Breaks" in whichtickets are included with accommodation, while Jet Set Sports haveall-inclusive packages. Do not buy from anywhere else, as they arenot legitimate vendors.
The most expensive tickets...
The best seats at the opening ceremony will cost 2,012.
...and the cheapest
There are 2.5 million tickets available at 20, covering everysport. Children aged under 16 can "pay their age", so a 12-year-oldonly costs 12. Some events are free: the men's and women'smarathons, the cycling road race, walking races and triathloncycling stage.
Best chance of seeing a British gold
Our highest hopes are with the cyclists, such as Chris Hoy andVictoria Pendleton. But as the velodrome holds only 6,000 people,their events will be massively oversubscribed. Instead, try gettingoff the beaten track and onto a bumpy one - Shanaze Reade is a realmedal contender in the BMX racing, if you are after something a bitdifferent that will not take up too much time, does not need in-depth knowledge of the rules and makes for great viewing.
The BMX arena surrounds an undulating course over whichcompetitors bunny-hop (and crash), and it is right in the middle ofthe Olympic Park in the shadow of the velodrome. The action issqueezed into two-hour sessions over three days and Reade, whocrashed in Beijing and ruined her medal hopes, should featurestrongly.
If you want a cheap option with the prospect of British gold atthe end of it, then the triathlon could provide one of the bestspectacles of the Games. In the course of less than two hours,Alistair Brownlee will swim, cycle and run around Hyde Park and theSerpentine in pursuit of a medal.
Where to see Usain Bolt
Everyone expects the Jamaican sprinter to be in the 100m final on5 August, but as that will be the most coveted ticket in town itwould be wise to apply for the classification heats the day beforeas well. Don't forget that he also runs in the 200m and 4x100m relayevents, so look out for those later in the month.
Not everything is in London
Events outside the Olympic village include football in Glasgow,Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle and Coventry; sailing in Weymouth,Dorset; rowing in Buckinghamshire's Eton Dorney; mountain biking atHadleigh Farm in Essex; and canoeing at the Lea Valley White WaterCentre in Hertfordshire.
Maximise your chances...
If you really want to see one sport in particular, apply forseveral sessions across different days, especially earlier heats.And if you have your mind set on a specific final, mark yourselfdown for different price ranges. On the other hand, if you are lessfussy about what sports you see, try some of the less hyped ones -such as handball or water polo.
...but don't get carried away
Although people applying for many different sessions are highlyunlikely to get all the tickets they request, it might happen.Therefore work out what you can afford and set a strict budgetbefore diving in - especially as you must have the funds availableto buy whatever tickets you are allocated, and orders cannot bechanged once they have been processed.
How to pay
Only Visa cards will be accepted on the internet. If you do nothave a standard Visa debit or credit card, you can buy a pre-paidVisa card from a bank (you load cash onto the card to spend at alater date). Otherwise, you can apply for tickets using a cheque orpostal order at branches of Lloyds TSB. Payments for successfulapplications will be taken between 10 May and 10 June, but you mightnot be notified of which tickets you have received until 24 June.
If it turns out you can't go...
A third of UK companies are expected to increase flexible workinghours to allow staff to watch the Games. But if you cannot get timeoff or are unable to attend, a re-sale website will allow you totrade tickets at face value. You cannot sell tickets on eBay orother auction websites.
Advice for non-British applicants
If not a resident of the UK or one of the designated Europeancountries, you will be required to apply for Olympic Games ticketsvia your local National Olympic Committee (NOC) from 15 March 2011and Paralympic Games tickets from your National Paralympic Committee(NPC) from 9 September 2011.
Applications for corporate tickets
Only 1 per cent of the tickets will be for corporate buyers, butif you want some for your business you can apply online in the sameway as for public tickets. Prestige Ticketing have exclusive accessto official on-site hospitality packages.
Applications for the Paralympics
These open on 9 September, when 2 million tickets will beavailable.
With 500 days to go, Olympic Park is on schedule
Sport, page 51
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