OLYMPICS: Many Irish fans are expected to clamour for Olympic tickets for the 2004 Athens Games when they go on public sale next month. Spectators who wish to travel to Greece for the event, which runs from August 13th-29th, and involves 29 different sporting disciplines, will be able to book tickets between May 12th and June 12th this year.
Residents of the 15-country EU bloc, and residents from Switzerland, Norway and Liechtenstein, will be eligible to buy the tickets from the organisers' website (www.athens2004.com/tickets).
Average ticket prices for the Games are about €35, a considerable reduction from €53 at the Sydney Games. Fifty-five per cent of all tickets will be priced below €20 - an average of 34 per cent cheaper than at the Sidney Games.
Organisers have had considerable success in the marketing and ticketing of the Games despite delays in preparations and constructions, which recently triggered a reprimand from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
As expected, ticket requests have again exceeded supply and officials have turned down additional orders of over €35 million, said the Athens Games organisers (ATHOC).
All 2.3 million tickets set aside for national Olympic committees, TV rights holders, sponsors and other organisations have already been snapped up, three weeks before the next three million tickets go on sale to the public.
"We have received orders for €95 million (from sponsors, national Olympic committees and broadcast rights owners). We sold €60 million worth of tickets and we could have easily sold the other €35 million," ATHOC marketing director George Bolos said. "But we have committed ourselves not to draw from the three million set aside for the spectators."
The website features all relevant information in English, French and Greek. Payment for internet bookings requires a VISA card but cash payments are also possible with advance payment required.
To submit an online ticket application an account first needs to be created and that can be done now.
The ticketing schedule is outlined on the site where fans can simply choose the relevant option. The applications are entered into a random process and confirmation letters will be posted in August.
As at other Olympic Games, the demand for seats will be greater for popular events like track and field and gymnastics than for sports like archery or weight lifting.
In case of excessive demand, a lottery will then take place and if some tickets are not taken up by June 13th, a second round of orders is to be launched in October 2003.
Organisers expect to cash in on a total €183 million from ticket receipts - 9.3 per cent of the Games' overall income.
