Big questions on 2012 tickets

17 MARCH 2010

London needs answers about how 2012 tickets will be allocated to build public confidence in the forthcoming ticketing strategy, the London Assembly said today.

The Assembly’s Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism Committee has written to the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) to seek answers about their plans for filling the Games’ nine million seats.

Questions from Londoners who contributed to the Committee’s online discussion forum[2] were included in the submission to LOCOG[1], which sets out the issues the Committee feels should be answered in the plans due to be published later this year.

Four key issues are identified in the submission; price, availability, priority access and purchasing arrangements.

Under International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules, the organisers must reserve a large number of seats for IOC representatives, athletes, the 205 National Olympic Committees, the Government and media. In addition there will be an unknown number of seats reserved for official partners and sponsors.

The Sydney Organising Committee was criticised[3] for being secretive about its ticketing policy, particularly in relation to the allocation of tickets to sponsors and corporate hospitality companies, while empty seats were a frequent sight at the Beijing Games.

In order to prevent similar issues in London, the Committee is calling on LOCOG to be open from the start about how many seats will be available to the public and how much they will cost.

Dee Doocey, Chair of the Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism Committee said,

“Londoners have told us they want to know more about 2012 tickets and I hope LOCOG will be able to work with us to ensure as many people as possible can enjoy the Games.

 “The key issue is simple: how many people will be ahead of the average Londoner in the queue for Olympic tickets?

“LOCOG needs to be open and transparent about how many tickets are going to be available for the public and how many are going to be reserved for the ‘Olympic family’. These tickets for IOC staff, officials, partners and sponsors will significantly reduce the number of seats available for the public.”

The Committee is calling on LOCOG to publish its strategy in draft form as soon as possible to allow for public debate and to build confidence in the ticketing plans. The four issues and some of the questions the Committee wants LOCOG to answer are outlined below. The full list is outlined in the submission.

Affordable tickets

  • How many tickets will be available at less that £10, £20 and £30, and how will these be distributed among the events?
  • How will tickets for the most high-profile and popular events be allocated?

Availability of tickets to the public

  • How many tickets will be made available free of charge to the government, the IOC and others, and how will these be distributed among the events?
  • How many tickets will be allocated to corporate hospitality companies and others as premium tickets, and how will these be distributed among the events and how were these factors taken into account when making this decision?

Preferential access for priority groups

  • Who does LOCOG consider to be priority groups for the purposes of access to preferential and low cost tickets for Games events?
  • How will the proposed stand-by scheme for local children work in practice?

Purchasing tickets

  • What personal details will be collected by LOCOG’s ticketing partners, in what circumstances will it share personal details with a third party and what will happen to the database after the Games?
  • What arrangements will be made to purchase tickets using cash for those who do not have Visa credit cards? Will this restriction apply to debit cards?

Ends

 

Notes to Editors

  1. The submission, Ticketing for the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012 is available at http://www.london.gov.uk/who-runs-london/the-london-assembly/publications/2012-games/2012-ticketing
  2. The public were invited to contribute to the investigation through an online discussion forum with the main themes feeding into the submission. http://londonassembly.uservoice.com/forums/35800-london-2012-games-ticketing
  3. http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/PARLMENT/committee.nsf/0/16d20b8c0ffb6a05ca256cf400097271/$FILE/olytick.PDF
  4. The Committee heard evidence on the issue from representatives of the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games and the O2 Arena at a public meeting on 24 February. A webcast of the meeting can accessed from http://www.london.gov.uk/who-runs-london/the-london-assembly/webcasts
  5. As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.

Dee Doocey AM is available for interviews. For more details, please contact Alastair Cowan in the Assembly Media Office on 020 7983 4504. 

For out of hours media enquiries please call 0207 983 4000 and ask for the Assembly duty press officer.  Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit, Greater London Authority, on 020 7983 4100.