Over the next four weeks, more than a million tickets for next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will be on sale. However, as with the Olympics, simply applying won’t guarantee you’ll get the tickets you want. Demand for events is expected to be high and so tickets will be allocated by a “fair and simple draw”. An official guide to the process was released last month and the first phase will run from today until the 16th of September. A short time later, officials will contact applicants to let them know if their application has been successful
Tickets for the Games -
available from today
However, Ty Speer, the deputy chief executive of Glasgow 2014, explained that there was “no advantage to putting your application in on the first day, a day in the middle or at the end. We will not process any applications until that phase closes. Our advice to everybody is go online or grab a copy of our ticketing brochure, sit down with family and friends and work out what works for you.”
The 11-day games, which begin on 23 July 2014, will see 4,500 athletes compete in 17 sports across 14 venues. But the organisers are keen to make sure that some of the issues highlighted from the London Olympics are not repeated in Glasgow. For example, blocks of seats reserved for “the Olympic family” or sponsors had remained empty. At the Commonwealth Games by contrast, at least 70% of all seats, for all sessions at all venues, would be available to the public.
A second phase of ticket sales will take place later this year when tickets go on general sale. However, the aim of the first round was to give as many people as possible an equal chance of getting tickets. Ticket prices start from £15 for adults, with half-price concessions on the cheapest tickets available for children and the over-60s.