London Olympics 2012: How to Purchase Tickets Online, Schedule and Everything You Need to Know

IBTimes UK brings you the step-by-step guide to book your tickets online for all the biggest sporting events about to happen at the London Olympics 2012. This guide pertains to ticket sales of both Olympic and Paralympic game events to be held in London.

The start of the summer Olympics 2012 in London is just a few hours away, as fans around the world will be eager to catch a glimpse of the opening ceremony scheduled for Friday, 27 July. The highlight of the event will be the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron by the Olympic Flame, which has been carried all the way from from Olympia in Greece.

The Modern Olympics has returned to London for the third time after a long break of 64 years. The Games were first held in London back in 1908, followed by its second stint in 1948. The London Olympics it is a golden opportunity for locals to get a glimpse of their favourite athletes perform on the world's biggest stage.

While the majority of avid Olympic followers might witness the game on TV, it always brings a sense of pride and joy to watch the game live at the various Olympic venues in London - and indeed around the UK.

IBTimes UK brings you the step-by-step guide to book your tickets online for all the biggest sporting events about to happen at the London Olympics 2012. This guide pertains to ticket sales of both Olympic and Paralympic Games to be held in London in the next month.

London Olympics 2012: Schedule

Click here to view the complete schedule for the London Olympics 2012.

Ticket Availability and Conditions

• It must be noted that the tickets are available based on first-come, first-served basis and subject to availability.
• The tickets will be searched and reserved for individual sessions only after the user performs the Request Tickets action. For this to be accomplished the sessions status should show available in at least one price category.

What you Need to Book Online Tickets

You need to have your login credentials ready with a registered online ticketing account to purchase tickets from the official website. If you haven't created an account already, you may do so by clicking here. Users with existing online ticketing accounts may proceed to the next step.

How to Search and Buy Tickets for Individual Events

• Potential users can buy online tickets in phases for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, and you will be eligible to search and buy tickets only when the time slots become available for a particular sporting event. Users are advised to note that tickets for various sporting events will go on sale on different dates and all will not be available for advance booking from day one.
• Users are required to select one of the options such as the sport/ceremony, venue or date option at a time to generate session information. The search page includes by default: 'Show available sessions only' checkbox option, to assist users in short-listing the availability for a specific event across various price brackets. It is important to note that online ticketing service restricts access to certain sporting sessions and price categories at any given time. So, users cannot access all the sessions and price categories at the same time.

Selecting Session(s)

• On any given day, there could be multiple sessions for the same event (for example: wrestling). So, the user will have the option to select a particular session or choose multiple sessions for the same event for booking.
• You may watch the Paralympic Games using a day pass or a ticket bought for a specific session. A day pass guarantees you access to multiple sports on a first come, first served basis, subject to availability. A single session ticket on the other hand restricts access to that particular session and does not permit multiple event access.

Types of Day Passes

A Paralympic Games day pass gives you entry to the Olympic Park, The Royal Artillery Barracks or ExCeL on a particular day to see a variety of sports, depending on availability:

• An Olympic Park day pass allows you to see any sport in the Park, other than Athletics, Cycling or Swimming and the finals of some other sports.
• A day pass for The Royal Artillery Barracks allows you to see both Archery and Shooting.
• An ExCeL day pass gives you access to all sports in ExCeL, other than Sitting Volleyball finals.

Availability of Day Passes

When a day pass becomes available, it will be listed on the search results page within the session details. On any single day, you can purchase a maximum of four sessions, so you need to exercise caution in making your choices. The tickets will be booked only after confirming their availability, once the user clicks 'Proceed to checkout'.

Access to Potential Medal Events

Certain key events will decide the medal winners for that particular event category. Such events are marked with a medal symbol and you need to identify these events while searching through various sessions.

Access to Special Offer Prices

Youths aged 16 and below are allow to pay according to their age from £1 to £16 at all events on 27 July. Senior citizens aged over 60 are required to pay £16 for their ticket.

A juicier offer is available for youths aged 16 and under, as well as senior citizens for all sessions of the Paralympic Games (excluding opening and closing ceremonies) held on 29 August. Both the youngsters and seniors will pay just £5 for this sporting extravaganza.

Special price tickets for youths are unlocked only when you purchase a valid full-price ticket or senior ticket. Look out for the blue-coloured flag symbol while searching through sessions to grab this offer.

Purchase Tickets by Price Category, Type and Number of Tickets: Why do Prices Vary?

It must be noted that the tickets are priced higher based on their better viewing potential of the field of play. For instance, tickets in price category A offer a better view of the field of play compared to the price category C.

You may purchase tickets for full price, senior or youngster category and also choose the appropriate numbers in the drop down list.

Paralympic Games Group Organiser Tickets

• If you purchase 20 tickets for a session (one of which must be a full price or senior ticket), you will receive two full price Group Organiser tickets at no extra charge. For every additional 10 tickets you purchase, you will receive another full price Group Organiser ticket at no extra charge.
• Purchase 20 - 29 tickets and get two Group Organiser tickets at no extra charge
• Purchase 30 - 39 tickets and get three Group Organiser tickets at no extra charge
• Purchase 40 - 49 tickets and get four Group Organiser tickets at no extra charge
• Purchase a maximum of 50 tickets and get five Group Organiser tickets at no extra charge

Ticket Delivery System and Fraudulent Website Checker

Tickets ordered online will be delivered to your designated address seven days ahead of the scheduled event. If in any case the delivery is delayed you can contact Ticketing customer service team on 0844 847 2012 for assistance. Users are advised to be wary of fraudulent websites and organizations claiming to sell tickets to the Games.

Check if a website is authenticated as an official sales channel or is a fraudulent website by using the ticketing website checker.

Ticket Information for Disabled People

Click here to check the details for ticketing information for disabled people.

For more information, head over to the official games website for online ticketing.