London 2012 Olympics: Tickets go on sale as gun fired in race for best seats
8.8 million tickets to go on sale tomorrow
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Six weeks to put your name down for ticket ballot
The starting gun will be fired tomorrow in the great race to get the best seats at the Olympics, 500 days before the opening ceremony.
Over 2.5 million people have now signed up for tickets to London 2012 with tickets going on sale from tomorrow.
People will have six weeks to put their name down for 8.8 million tickets which, if the event is oversubscribed, names will be put into a ballot.
There are 8.8 million tickets available for the London Olympics ranging in price from £20 to £2,012
HOW TO WIN THE OLYMPICS TICKET RACE
When do tickets go on sale?
Tickets are on sale from March 15 until April 26. There is a 'lottery' system in place and only one application per email address and Visa card. Prices range from £20 to £2,012.
How do I apply?
www.tickets.london2012.com
Can I only apply online?
Paper application forms are available at Lloyds TSB (or Bank of Scotland in Scotland only) and libraries in Northern Ireland between March 15 and April 25.
What about overseas residents?
Regardless of citizenship, you will need to apply for tickets via your National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee.
How are tickets shared?
For fairness an automatic ballot will kick in for over-subscribed events.
How do I pay if I am applying online?
Visa debit credit or prepaid cards. Paper applicants: cheque or postal order
Is there access for the disabled with these tickets?
Wheelchair spaces are available subject to availability. The come with a companion seat and you can apply to have accompanying family next to or as close as possible to the space.
What kind of access will be offered?
Seats close to the action for visually-impaired, direct view of a video screen for the deaf, seats near the back or front for people unable to cope with stairs. Commentary, audio description and facilities for assistance dogs along with accessible toilets will be available.
Dates to remember
Applications processed May to June
Notifications : June 2011
Applications for Paralympic Games open on September 9.
London 2012 chairman Lord Coe is sticking by his description that it will be a marathon not a sprint as the six week window - to April 26 - to try and buy one of 8.8 million tickets begins.
Lord Coe describes it as the "daddy of all ticketing strategies" but there is a potential risk of a technological meltdown.
He said: 'We have got some great partnerships out there. London 2012 is working with technical teams and in the technology suites on the tickets.
'We have 2.5 million people saying they want tickets and right across the process this is where we want to be - for people to buy tickets and get them in to the system - but there is no hurry.
'You have no greater chance of getting a ticket on March 15 than say 22 days in to the process.
'We have got every confidence that everybody who wants to come will get a chance.'
In total there are 650 sessions across 26 sports and 17 days to choose from and people will be limited to a maximum of 20 events each.
The most popular events, including the men's 100 metres final, will have a limit of four tickets per person and are expected to fetch the highest ticket price.
Ballots will be drawn for oversubscribed events rather than a first-come-first-served basis which organisers hope will be more fair.
Ticket prices will range in price with every event offering tickets at £20 right up to the most expensive ticket - £2,012 - for the opening ceremony.
People should only apply for what they can afford because a successful bid for tickets means they have to pay for them, just as they would with an online auction site.
Applicants will find out whether or not they have secured tickets by June 24 when Visa, the only valid credit card as an Olympic sponsor, will debit the cost of tickets.
On top of the 8.8 million tickets available for the Olympics, another 2 million will go on sale on September 9 for the Paralympics.
Organisers hope that everyone that wants to get along to an event at London 2012 will be able to get there.
In a bid to try and get more people to take up the offer, each ticket will include free travel on public transport in London for the day of the event.
Along with a variety of festivities taking place throughout the city there will be free events including road cycling, triathlon and the marathon.
Tickets are also on offer for the opening and closing ceremonies which are being directed by Hollywood film makers Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) and Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot).
Seb Coe insists the sale of tickets will be a marathon not a sprint as the six-week window to buy tickets begins
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