London 2012 Olympics: Games organisers claim ticket sales have 'hit the roof'

"Every day is different, but also in the last week we have been getting three or four times the applications above and beyond what was coming in for the previous five weeks - and the sky's the limit based on the pattern that I am seeing at the moment."

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, have a limit of four tickets per person.

Before sales began on March 15, more than 2.5 million people had signed up to the official website wanting to go to the Games.

This wave of sales, in which sports fans will find out whether or not they have secured tickets by June 24, is "the best chance probably by a long long way to get the tickets that you actually want," Deighton said.

"Anyone who wants to get to the Games should absolutely get their applications done - there is no doubt about that.

"There will be a number of tickets left over. It was always the plan.

"If you are clear about what kind of tickets you desire, apply for them now. You will only regret it if you do not get around to it, and it will be much more difficult if you leave it."

Prices range from £20 to £2,012.

They include paying up to £2,012 for the opening ceremony, up to £725 for the showpiece 100m athletics final and between £50 and £325 for the track cycling finals.

A seat at the opening ceremony is on many people's wishlist, buying patterns so far suggest. Many fans are also making multiple bids for seats at different events.

"Taking the £20.12p tickets for the opening ceremony, I think we can confidently predict that there will be more orders than availability," according to Deighton.

Orders have been "pretty well-spread" across the sports, he said, adding: "I think that a lot of people are ordering quite a number of tickets. Families seem to be ordering so they can go together."

A random automated ballot will kick in for over-subscribed events.

The process of matching the demand and the different-priced tickets with the sessions available will then start.

Applications will be processed between May 2011 and June 2011.

Notifications, by email or letter, for those who have been successful, will be sent in June 2011.

London 2012 needs to get 25 per cent of its revenue from ticket sales. It is a vital part of raising £2 billion from the private sector to stage the Games.

Applications for Paralympic Games tickets open on September 9 2011.

View the original article here

London 2012 Olympics: Locog faces new fight as Premier Inn withdraws cheap hotel rooms in row over reselling

Other hotels, particularly Thistle Group, Hilton Worldwide and some Mayfair hotels are seriously considering withdrawing their rooms too — putting at risk the accommodation for some Olympic officials and guests.

Management of the hotels are furious that they had committed to providing the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games a large percentage of rooms under a fixed-price preferential scheme, based on the previous three years’ rates, only to discover Locog had passed on some of those rooms to their third-party ticket providers, Thomas Cook and US-based CoSport.

The two companies paid an undisclosed sum to Locog to gain access to the Olympic tickets and preferential-rate rooms and become official resellers.

Weeks of negotiations between Locog and the British Hospitality Association failed to resolve the row.

The prices being charged by Thomas Cook and CoSport have up to 300 per cent markups. One Park Lane hotel that usually charges £224 a night is being marketed by Thomas Cook for two nights with some

Olympic tickets for £5,300. Locog says the high prices reflect the “certainty” of being able to buy the tickets, as opposed to entering the public ballot.

But the hotels are refusing to sign agreements with the two ticket providers and scores of hotels have told Locog to formally withdraw their hotel rooms from the scheme or from providing them to any third parties.

Premier Inn said in a statement: “We do not intend to allow anyone to exploit our customers during the Olympics or any other major event, and we have asked Locog to honour our agreement and withdraw the rooms given to the third party.”

The co-operation of the hotels was central to the London 2012 bid and helped convince International Olympic Committee members that ‘price gouging’, one of the problems facing host cities, had been addressed.

Thomas Cook was the successful tender for a ”short breaks” ticket packages from Locog more than 15 months ago, which enabled it access to 300,000 tickets and 4,500 hotel rooms at the preferential rates. Locog has been unable to clarify if the rooms allocated to CoSport and included in premium packages costing more than £11,000 are provided under the preferential scheme.

But Premier Inn said it was upset the rooms were passed to a third party. “These rooms were to be allocated to groups connected to the event, not the general public, and we have been disappointed to learn that some of the rooms allocated to Locog have been passed on to a third party who have significantly marked them up for onward sale,” it said.

Hilton Worldwide said that the situation was “unacceptable”. Locog did not return calls on Thursday.

View the original article here

London 2012 Olympics: 20 questions with Drew Sullivan

DS: Yeah I think so. I think it’s going in the right direction. We’ve got the European Championships this August, which is the last big tournament before the Olympics. We’re in an extremely tough group which I think really favours us in the long-run with the Games coming up. And that’s basically our big picture.

TS: When’s the last time you skipped training?

DS: I think about a month ago. I just didn’t feel like going in.

TS: Have you ever lied to get out of training?

DS: Yes – a month ago. I phoned up and said ‘oh, I don’t feel well....I’ll be in tomorrow’.

TS: Is sporting success down to luck, talent or hard work?

DS: A bit of all of them. I know a lot of talented people who don’t have jobs at the minute just because of the way the basketball market is at the minute. So that’s where the luck comes in. But I think it’s a lot of luck, a lot hard work and a lot of timing. It’s about just being in the right place and going to the right team and having a coach and team-mates that make you better and give you the opportunity.

TS: Is winning silver, losing gold?

DS: It is but I think from our standpoint – being in the Olympics for the first time – winning silver would be winning silver. I would be upset to make it to the final and lose but I think that playing in the final is actually less pressurised than playing in the bronze medal game. You could lose and not get anything. At least if you play in the final you could get silver.

TS: How do you celebrate after a tournament?

DS: I don’t really do a whole lot. I go home, maybe have a beer and sit down and watch TV. After we won a trophy this year I went back and hung out with my family. I’m sure that at the end of the season if we won the play-offs we’d go on a night out as a team but normally it’s just ‘on to the next one’.

TS: What is your idea of happiness?

DS: My idea of happiness is that my family and I are together and enjoying each other’s company. I’d like to grow old with my family around me.

TS: What is your idea of misery?

DS: Getting old by myself with nobody around.

TS: Are you jealous of anyone?

DS: No, I’m not jealous of anyone. I have my life – I’m extremely happy with it. I’m in a situation that’s been somewhat created by myself and my family – and we’re happy.

TS: Is there one thing you regret?

DS: No, not really because I feel like everything that’s gone on in my life has shaped the person that I am. If I take out even the smallest detail out of my life it could have such a detrimental effect on how my life turned out. And I like how my life has turned out.

TS: What’s the most expensive thing you’ve bought?

DS: I would say two kids but you don’t buy them, you just rent them don’t you? Probably my Sony TV. I’m trying to upgrade to 3D but I’m getting dirty looks about it.

TS: When did you last clean your toilet?

DS: Last night actually.

TS: How much is a pint of milk?

DS: A pound I think. Something in that region. [Nope – it’s 45p]

TS: McDonalds or Burger King?

DS: McDonalds. I like the fries there.

TS: iPad or newspaper?

DS: I go online on my iPhone to read the tabloids. Does that count?

TS: You see someone kick a dog, what do you do?

DS: I’d probably get really agitated as I’ve got two dogs myself. I love my dogs so I’d kick off pretty bad.

TS: Do you believe in UFOs?

DS: I don’t know, I’ve never seen one personally. It’d be a shame if we were the only intelligent life forms in the universe but I’ve never seen an UFO so I can’t comment.

TS: What would you like written on your gravestone?

DS: I didn’t want to have to think about that for a while..... Good dad, good husband. That’d be enough for me.

To apply for London 2012 tickets visit www.tickets.london2012.com any time between now and 26 April.

View the original article here