Despite the public anger over the lack of success in the gaining of Olympic tickets in the initial ballot it's hard not to look at the process and outcome as a success in terms of an event organiser. Who would not want an event where elements (in this case individual events) were completely sold out despite large numbers of interested people missing out?! Answer is of course no one.
It's a tremendously positive sign for London2012 that demand is so high in comparison to supply. It guarantees that whilst some, including all at Connect Events, will miss out the stadiums and arenas hosting each individual event will be full. A complete contrast to a large number of events at Beijing2008. This is great news for those involved in winning the right to host the Olympics all those years ago but also for the British public who will be able to watch on with pride (I hope) at a successful games.
On a quick side note away from the Olympics - the interest and demand from our public demonstrates that our lack of votes at the recent FIFA World Cup2018 bid award was to put it politely a joke. There are very few countries that get behind sporting events as strongly as we do. Cases in point Wimbledon vs French Open and Manchester Commonwealth Games vs Beijing Olympic Games. This coupled with existing stadia, accommodation and transportation systems adds to our sense of disbelief at our very strong bid only receiving two votes (one our own).
Anyway, I digress! Despite the overall success, in my opinion, of the ticket ballot I do believe there have not been enough tickets set aside for the general public - those who should really benefit from the Games. Rumours of only 40,000 of the 80,000 Olympic Stadium seats been available to the general public (not corporate / sponsors / VIPs) for each event will just add fuel to the fire around the injustice of the ballot - and rightly so. The fact that people such as Sepp Blatter will receive free tickets also does LOCOG no favours, especially in the light of the recent FIFA scandal and the FA's attempt to postpone the election.
Another negative of the ticket system has been regarding payment. This, as far as I can tell has been for 2 reasons. Firstly that you end up paying for tickets almost 14months before the start of the Games. Secondly that the money goes out of your account before you actually know officially which events you have received tickets for. I tend to agree both could and perhaps should have been done differently, although taking the money first helps to guarantee full stadiums - if you've paid for a ticket to an event you now aren't fussed about you are still likely to attend.
The sole acceptance of VISA cards probably angered me the most. Again, as an events person I appreciate the need for sponsorship, especially on such a large event, but only accepting that card brand is not ideal in the current financial climate. Even more so when a large nunber of people only have a VISA debit (not credit) card. Why LOCOG could not have allowed other cards but charged a premium to use them, such as is the case with Easyjet, Ryanair, etc is beyond me.
As much as I love Britain the popularity of the Games and the subsequent demand for tickets was always going to mean a negative reaction to the ballot process, that's just how we react. The problem is that a ballot is exactly that, there is no guarantee that you'll get tickets regardless of how many you bid for. There have been suggestions that tickets should have been on direct sale which just would not have worked - the only guarantee in that system would be Internet sites crashing!
London2012 will be a fantastic occassion with full stadiums and amazing atmospheres at almost all of the events. Yes a large number (currently over half) will not get to watch the event of our choice live in the stadium but that should not detract from the positive vibes the Olympics will create. As a regular spectator at large sporting events the atmosphere and experience in official fan parks is almost as good as being in the stadium just without the cost! Despite my failure (so far - there is a 2nd ballot) to get tickets I still can't wait for the Olympics to take place and for the UK to demonstrate why we are the best place to host a large event (I just hope FIFA are watching)!
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