2012 LONDON OLYMPICS:SEBASTIAN COE, chairman of the 2012 London Olympics organising committee, described it as the "the daddy of all ticket strategies" as details of prices for the summer Games were released yesterday.
With 90 per cent of the tickets available for £100 (€114) or less, and considering the proximity, it will be the most accessible Olympics in living memory for Irish people.
Not since 1992 in Barcelona has the biggest sporting occasion in the world been close to Irish shores. London last hosted the Olympics in 1948.
Much of the demand will focus on the 80,000 all-seater Olympic stadium in Marshgate Lane in Stratford with tickets for main events like the men’s 100 metre final starting at €57 and peaking at €830.
Tickets for the opening ceremony range from £20.12 with the most expensive being £2,012.
Get it? 2012.
Coe stated yesterday: “I’ve always said it would not be acceptable in the UK if we had empty seats in stadiums and for me that would be a failure.
“Our pricing system is affordable and accessible because we want the venues full to the rafters with people who want to be at the greatest show on earth.”
Over 1.7 million people have already registered at www.tickets.london2012.comfor the public ballot to purchase tickets.
Orders can only be placed online with a Visa card as they are one of the Olympics main sponsors.
Some 8.8 million tickets will be available to the public, with 75 per cent of these going on sale in March 2011.
Thousands of Irish people are expected to travel to the Britain for the games, which begin on July 27th and finish on August 12th.
The Olympic football tournament is not exclusive to London, taking place at six venues across Britain, with the bronze medal matches at the City of Coventry stadium (women) and the Millennium stadium in Cardiff (men).
Preliminary games will be played at Old Trafford in Manchester and St James Park in Newcastle, with the finals returning to Wembley stadium in London.
Ticket pricing for the football begin at €22 with the best seats in Wembley for the men’s gold/silver medal decider priced at €212.
At Wimbledon, tickets for the men’s and woman’s gold/silver medal matches range from €74 to €212.
Boxing at the ExCel centre in the London docklands will be of particular interest to Irish sports fans. There will be 13 gold medals up for grabs – 10 in the men’s and three in the newly adopted women’s weight categories.
Amateur boxing in Ireland is currently producing contenders in all weight divisions, as seen at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing when Kenny Egan won a silver while Paddy Barnes and the late Darren Sutherland won bronze medals.
In 2012 three time world champion Katie Taylor is expected to be a serious medal prospect.
Tickets for the women’s finals start at €65 up to €360. The men’s finals are more expensive at €109 to €452.
There is also a “pay your age” scheme for youths under 16 while adults over 60 can buy tickets for €18.
The price of closing ceremony tickets range between €23 and €1,700.
