London 2012 Ticket Issue Resolved

The hype leading up to the 2012 London Olympics is in full swing.  The UK is playing host to the world’s greatest sporting event: this has offered a life line to the travel and tourism industries (amongst others!) with the expected volume of visitors.  The spectacle of the opening ceremony is billed to set the scene for the world to witness athletes of the highest calibre, competing at the top of their game.

London is hosting the games for the 3rd time in recent history with previous events being held in 1908 and 1948: 2012 is placed to be the most spectacular yet!  205 nations are expected to participate in the 300 Olympic events between July 27th and August 12th 2012, as well as 147 nations competing in the Paralympics Games, which will be held at the end of August.  London, and the whole of the UK, is already buzzing with everyone sharing excitement over the “event of the summer.” 

However much the preparations might be in full swing, things haven’t running entirely smoothly so far; notably the issues encountered with ticket sales.  The sheer level of popularity experienced thus far has caused several headaches to the organisers.  Tickets were originally issued via a blind auction to ensure they were as fairly distributed as possible.  Due to this, a number of hopeful spectators received tickets they were either unwilling or unable to use. 

To prevent ludicrous resale prices being commanded, illegally by ticket touts, organisers published a website to ensure tickets are re-sold legally, and at face value.  The ticket website went live on the 6th January 2012 but was almost immediately decommissioned due to a technical glitch: much to the annoyance of those looking to buy and/or sell tickets.  However, the technical creases appear to have been ironed out and it has now been reopened. LOCOG’s Chris Townsend issued an apology and said, “We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.”



To prevent any further delays or issues occurring, the functionality of the website has been amended.  Now, instead of the public being able to purchase tickets straightaway, Games organiser LOCOG will buy them at face value until the closing date on 3rd February 2012.  The site will then open an additional section, at the beginning of April, which will enable unwanted tickets to be purchased by the public.

Later in his apology, Townsend added, “We made a commitment to our customers to give them a safe, secure and legal way of selling Olympic and Paralympic tickets which they are no longer able to use. We are delivering on that commitment, and will buy any tickets that customers are no longer able to use.
“We believe in this system – purchasing the tickets back from customers now, and offering them again in April, will result in a better customer experience for everyone.”

Those who were unfortunately caught up in the technical glitch have been reassured no charges will be incurred, and no tickets will be issued.  This up-dated method of Olympics and Paralympics ticket resale has allowed the ticket website to function in a fair and hopefully error-free way.  Police have issued warnings regarding the illegal sale of London Olympic tickets, without LOCOG permission, will result in criminal proceedings.