London 2012 Defends Ticketing; Team GB Workshop Fine-Tunes Planning

(ATR) Olympics organizers tell Around the Rings the controversial ticketing system implemented for the Games is a fair one.

More than 20 million Olympic ticket requests were received during the first ticket sales phase that ended April 27. But complaints have come over the process whereby successful applicants will see money leave their accounts and credit cards in the coming weeks without being told what events they have succeeded in getting until June 24 at the latest.

About 60 percent of successful applicants will see their credit cards debited this week.

"The first thing to do is make sure we tell everyone on the same day which events they have. The aim is to minimise the time between the money coming out and notification coming," a LOCOG spokesman told ATR.

"June 24 is the latest people will hear. Our aim is to tell people before."

Around 1.8 million people submitted requests for the 6.6. million tickets on sale to the public during the six-week application window that ended April 27. More than one million ticket applications were made for the men's 100m final alone.

Unsold tickets across the range of sessions and sports will be made available in June and July as part of the second ticketing phase on a "first-come, first-served" basis.

LOCOG tells ATRthat tickets are still available for team sports including football and hockey as well as sports that have many spectator sessions such as volleyball.

About one million tickets for specific events at the 2012 Games have now gone on sale around the world and can be bought on official websites outside the U.K. National Olympic committees have put some of their allocations on the market through authorized resellers.

UK-based Sportsworld, an official seller to more than 10 countries, and German agent Dertour were reported Tuesday to be doing brisk trade.

Official Olympic hospitality ticket provider Prestige Ticketing claims to have shifted more than a quarter of its 88,000 packages for the Olympics, Event Magazine reported. As expected, athletics, rowing, diving, track cycling and beach volleyball were among the most popular sports in the hospitality packages that have been on sale since March 15.

Ticketing for Test Events

LOCOG tells ATR it will put some test event tickets on sale Thursday. The 12-month testing program includes 42 events across 26 Olympic venues.

Not all events are ticketed nor available to the public. For those that are, tickets will cost between$8 and $57.

The first test events are an invitational marathon and a 20km race walking eventtaking place on London roads and The Mall next Monday.

Team GB Workshop Focuses Olympic Ambitions

Team GB leaders led by chef de mission Andy Hunt and officials from the Olympic sports on the 2012 program began a three-day workshop Monday to fine-tune operational plans for the British team's participation at the Games.

It's the third workshop of six being delivered by the British Olympic Association before London 2012 opens.

After the Host Nation Qualification Place reviews between the BOA and national governing bodies, Team GB will be represented in all 26 sports. More than 500 British athletes will take part at the Olympics, Britain's largest-ever delegation for a Games.

On Tuesday, Britain's Olympic sports leaders met with LOCOG chief executive Paul Deighton and senior members of the Games planning team before visiting the Olympic Park and the Olympic Village accommodations.

The final day of the workshop will see the focus switch to sport-specific venue visits so as to fine-tune operational and logistical plans on a sport-by-sport basis.

Over the three days, there will also be a major focus across a number of key performance and operational areas on preparing British athletes for optimum performance for their home Olympics.

New London Project for Laureus

London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe joined U.S. 400m legend Michael Johnson and Britain's five-times Olympic gold medal rower Steve Redgrave to launch a new Laureus project on Monday.

The three Laureus Academy members unveiled the partnership between the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and Track Academy in Willesden, north London.

Laureus promotes the use of sport for social change and currently supports 84 sports-based projects worldwide. Track Academy helps young people to achieve their potential despite the circumstances into which they are born.

"As Chairman of LOCOG, I am very keen to ensure that there is a significant legacy delivered for young people in London after the Games," Coe said.

"Projects like Track Academy, which use sport to improve people’s lives and gives youngsters more options in life, can do just that. I’m delighted that we at Laureus are able to support this innovative scheme."

Changes at BOA

The British Olympic Association announced Tuesday the addition of Belinda Moore to its performance services team as head of athlete engagement. Meanwhile, Ben Hunt-Davis, who joined the BOA in July 2009 in the role of 2012 program manager, is moving into a part-time consultancy role with the organisation.

Written by Mark Bisson