Ticket sales for the London 2012 Paralympic Games have been unprecedented and many of the sessions will have to go to a ballot, Paul Deighton, London 2012 chief executive told Reuters Tuesday.
Ticket sales in Britain began September 9 and closed Monday.
Deighton said the public response has been exceptional. “We are still sorting through the final numbers but we are delighted with the outcome. We have sold hundreds and hundreds of thousands, a very impressive return. In Paralympic terms, it’s unprecedented”.
He added, “there’s a substantial number of sessions where we will have to go to ballot because they’ve been over-subscribed, which again I think is probably a first for the Paralympic Games”.
Deighton said the over-subscribed sessions were more widely spread across the sports than might have been expected, and not just for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, cycling and wheelchair basketball.
Remaining tickets for the Paralympics will be put on sale online in December along with 1.5 million Olympic soccer tickets.
Deighton said, “the remaining Olympic Games tickets will come back on sale probably in April next year when we have finalized precisely all the venues…so we know exactly how many tickets we have got left for each sport”.
