London 2012 Games: Ticket applications 'hit the roof'
Tuesday 26 April 2011 8:13 AM
Applications for tickets for the London 2012 Olympics have "hit the roof", according to organisers.
The deadline to apply for the 6.6 million tickets on the London 2012 website is 2359 BST on 26 April.
London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton said the number of applicants had risen steadily until Friday before hitting a "really high level".
Applications will be processed by June 2011 when those who have been successful will be notified.
Before tickets went on sale on 15 March more than 2.5 million people had signed up to the official website.
Prices range from £20 to £2,012 - the top price for the opening ceremony - and oversubscribed events will be decided by a random ballot.
'Pretty well-spread'
Mr Deighton said: "Every day is different, but also in the last week we have been getting three or four times the applications above and beyond what was coming in for the previous five weeks - and the sky's the limit based on the pattern that I am seeing at the moment."
There are 650 sessions across 26 sports and 17 days to choose from and people will be limited to a maximum of 20 events each.
The most popular events, including the men's 100m final, have a limit of four tickets per person.
Mr Deighton said orders had been "pretty well-spread" across the sports, adding: "I think that a lot of people are ordering quite a number of tickets. Families seem to be ordering so they can go together."
And he said he was confident the ticketing system would stand up to the pressure expected in the next few hours.
"The system has actually worked faultlessly and with a process of this scale and complexity that is extraordinary," he said.
"Even though I am expecting we will have significant demand we are confident with the way the system is working and that it can support anything that the ticket-buying world can throw at us."
Once the deadline for tickets passes the process of matching demand, and the different-priced tickets, with sessions available will start.
Applications for tickets for the Paralympic Games open on 9 September.
Also See