LONDON — Thousands of tickets for Olympic competitions went back on sale late Sunday after critics complained of empty seats at Olympic venues during the opening days. VOA was out on London’s streets to ask people whether they had been able to nab the sought-after seats.
Jamie Denton was one of the lucky ones.
“Yes, we are going to the Olympics," said Denton. "We did not get any tickets in the first round. But we got some tickets to the athletics and to the women’s 10-meter diving final in the second round. It was quite easy, nowhere near as bad as some of the media seem to think it was."
Just less than 2 million people in Britain applied for Olympic tickets in an initial lottery last year.
In the second round of sales, held a few months later, unsuccessful applicants from the first round bought 900,000 tickets.
Sven Bylander did not have an easy time of it.
“I applied for like 10 tickets and did not get any," said Bylander. "But now I see there are more tickets are available again, so I may actually go.”
Neither did Delia Marginen.
“We tried to book some tickets, but we could not," said Marginen. "So we missed on tickets. But I am still hoping that we will find some tickets.”
Late Sunday, 3,000 tickets were made available online and sold quickly. Olympic organizers say more tickets will be going up for sale on a daily basis.
Many of the empty seats had been allocated to international federations for individual sports. Now the organizing committee for the Olympic Games is trying to get some of those tickets back.
One woman said that is good news for people in Britain, many of whom have been disappointed.
“It is just a once in a lifetime event, and when it has come to your hometown and you do not have tickets it is a little bit disappointing," she said. "It is supposed to have gone out to a lot of people and be accessible, but that has not been the case. So it is a bit disappointing, to be honest."
New tickets are being sold through the official London 2012 website on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Jamie Denton was one of the lucky ones.
“Yes, we are going to the Olympics," said Denton. "We did not get any tickets in the first round. But we got some tickets to the athletics and to the women’s 10-meter diving final in the second round. It was quite easy, nowhere near as bad as some of the media seem to think it was."
Just less than 2 million people in Britain applied for Olympic tickets in an initial lottery last year.
In the second round of sales, held a few months later, unsuccessful applicants from the first round bought 900,000 tickets.
Sven Bylander did not have an easy time of it.
“I applied for like 10 tickets and did not get any," said Bylander. "But now I see there are more tickets are available again, so I may actually go.”
Neither did Delia Marginen.
“We tried to book some tickets, but we could not," said Marginen. "So we missed on tickets. But I am still hoping that we will find some tickets.”
Late Sunday, 3,000 tickets were made available online and sold quickly. Olympic organizers say more tickets will be going up for sale on a daily basis.
Many of the empty seats had been allocated to international federations for individual sports. Now the organizing committee for the Olympic Games is trying to get some of those tickets back.
One woman said that is good news for people in Britain, many of whom have been disappointed.
“It is just a once in a lifetime event, and when it has come to your hometown and you do not have tickets it is a little bit disappointing," she said. "It is supposed to have gone out to a lot of people and be accessible, but that has not been the case. So it is a bit disappointing, to be honest."
New tickets are being sold through the official London 2012 website on a first-come, first-serve basis.
