London 2012 Olympic Games tickets

Tickets to the London 2012 Olympic Games go on sale on 15 March 2011 but how do you get your hands on them?
Here is our guide to applying to get your hands on those sought after pieces of paper. When do the tickets go on sale?
Tickets go on sale on 15 March 2011 on the London 2012 website.So can I buy my tickets on that day?
No, it's not first come, first served as it would be if you wanted to buy tickets to see Madonna.
The application process will be open for six weeks until 26 April, with any over-subscribed tickets allocated via a ballot system.
It doesn't matter if you apply the day the applications open or last day before the deadline of 2359 BST on 26 April.Do I have to apply online?
No, if you live in the UK you can apply for tickets using a paper form, which can be found in branches of Lloyds TSB in England and Wales, or Bank of Scotland in Scotland and libraries in Northern Ireland between 15 March and 25 April 2011.How much will the tickets cost?
It depends on what you want to see. Seats for the coveted 100m final will set you back up to £725 but tickets for many sports start at £20.
Organisers London 2012 say there is a wide range of prices across the 39 disciplines and 649 sports sessions with 90% of tickets at £100 or less, two-thirds under £50 and about 25% at £20 or less.
Children under 16 will be eligible to "pay their age" across more than 200 sessions and tickets for over-60s will be £16 at the same events.
Events such as the marathon and cycling road race will be free for the majority of the route with only the finishing line area ticketed. Will there be a limit to the number of tickets I can buy? Continue reading the main story
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Yes, many sessions have limits on the number of tickets you can apply for. More details are available on the full Games schedule.
There will be 8.8m tickets available for the Olympic Games alone (with a further two million available for the Paralympic Games, which go on sale later this year).
Some 75% of the tickets are available to the general public via the application process. The remaining 25% is a combination of tickets for worldwide fans (through global National Olympic Committees), sponsors and rights holders who provide the funds to stage the Games and finally hospitality and travel packages.
The organisers say "prestige hospitality tickets" will account for less than one per cent of tickets on sale.What is a session?
Each ticket is sold for a specified session which may include several events, for example a session of swimming may include several heats and races.
Most tickets cannot be used to watch all the events taking place at a venue on a given day, just the specific session for which the ticket has been purchased. How can I pay?
If you are buying your tickets online, you can only pay by Visa card - be that credit, debit or pre-paid. If you apply with a paper form you can pay by cheque or postal order. London 2012 also says it will also accept cash but has not revealed details of how to pay this way. How can I plan what tickets to apply for?
The full schedule has been published on the London 2012 website, showing the day, time, venue and ticket prices for each event. When will I find out if I have been successful in getting tickets
London 2012 organisers say "We will be taking payment between 10 May and 10 June 2011 and we will notify you whether you have been allocated tickets by 24 June 2011".How do I know if I am buying official London 2012 tickets from a legitimate source?
London 2012 organisers will be setting up a website checker to allow buyers to verify if the seller is genuine. You should only buy tickets through the London 2012 website or the paper forms, but police are worried that hundreds of bogus websites will be set up.
Users will be able to paste the URL of a website into a box to find out if it is genuine.What if I have applied for too many tickets or can no longer go to an event I have a ticket for?
London 2012 have said they will provide a "very simple, very clear, very efficient" system for people with unwanted tickets to resell them at face value.Will there be any free events I can see?
Yes, there will be free events such as the marathon and road cycling where you won't need a ticket apart from the final section. However, it is likely London 2012 will ticket the Olympic Park to control crowd numbers.What provision is there for people with disabilities?
Spaces for wheelchair users are available for spectators at all venues, and in all ticket price categories, for all 26 Olympic sports and 20 Paralympic sports.
A companion seat is included in the cost of a ticket for a wheelchair space. If you apply for tickets for accompanying family or friends, they will be seated next to or as close as possible to the wheelchair space and companion seat.
When you apply for tickets you can also request additional accessibility options. These include seats with a direct view of a video screen for people who are deaf or hearing impaired; seats close to the action for visually impaired people; seats for people who need to be on the end of a row; and seats for people who have difficulty using steps.
More information is available here on the London 2012 website. What if I can't get to London, will there be anything to see outside the capital?
Yes, there are lots of venues outside London which will host Olympic and Paralympic events. These are: City of Coventry Stadium (football), Eton Dorney (rowing), Hadleigh Farm, Essex (mountain biking), Hampden Park, Glasgow (football), Lee Valley White Water Centre (canoe slalom), Millennium Stadium in Cardiff (football), Old Trafford in Manchester (football), St James' Park in Newcastle (football) and Weymouth and Portland in Dorset (sailing). Tickets for these venues and events will also go on sale on 15 March 2011.
Further details about the ticketing process can be found on the London 2012 website.I live outside the UK, can I still apply for tickets?
Yes, how to apply depends on your country of residence. People from some European countries can apply through the London 2012 website but residents of other countries can apply through their National Olympic Committee or appointed Authorised Ticket Reseller. Find out more with our international Q&A. Will there be any travel or corporate hospitality packages available?
Premium corporate hospitality packages are available through Prestige Ticketing Ltd for UK and European Economic Area (EEA) companies and residents. Jet Set Sports is offering premium hospitality packages for all over overseas markets.
Thomas Cook, is providing short UK break packages that will include event tickets, accommodation and transport. (from BBC)