Government buys £750,000 of Olympic tickets
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Government has spent nearly £750,000 on 8,815 tickets for the London 2012 Olympics.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has been allocated 213 tickets for the opening ceremony, which cost £194,525, and 41 top-priced tickets for the opening ceremony, at £2,012.12 each. It has paid £71,490 for 143 tickets for the closing ceremony, according to figures revealed under a freedom of information request by Sky News. Almost two-thirds of the 1.9 million people who applied in the six-week first round of ticket sales ended up empty-handed.
A total of 1.2 million people received no tickets, with only 700,000 – 36 per cent – successful. The DCMS submitted bids for tickets for the entire Government and, it is believed, its allocation will be shared out across all departments. Apart from £29,530 spent on tickets for the diving event, which will feature Tom Daley, 224 tickets have been bought for track cycling at the Olympic Park velodrome. These include the much sought-after sprint and keirin finals, in which the Olympic champions, Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton, hope to compete.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments