This post is part of Viator’s coverage of the London Olympics. Leading up to the Games and every day during the Games, we’ll be posting tips from our London-based blogger, Philippa. Be sure to check back often for the latest updates on happenings around London, news on special events and tips for what to see and do in London and the surrounding area while you’re visiting!
London Olympic Tickets. Photo courtesy of insideology via Flickr.
Only about a week to go and things are getting hot up here. Even the forecast for next week is supposed to be sunshine – fingers crossed.
There are more athletes, officials and spectators arriving every day and the Torch draws ever closer to London and the Olympic Stadium. So far the airports, roads and railways seem to be coping with the extra people in town – although some of the buses bringing athletes from Heathrow to the Olympic Village did get lost giving an unexpected tour of the sights of London to the American and Australian teams. Mostly everyone kept their sense of humor though and enjoyed seeing Tower Bridge.
It’s estimated that an extra 900,000 hotel nights will be booked in London during these two weeks so if you don’t already have somewhere to stay, book it fast. Or, consider staying just outside London and traveling in. Oxford, Cambridge, and Brighton are only an hour away by train and lovely in their own right.
The good news is that as the opening ceremony draws closer, more tickets for events are becoming available. This is mainly thanks to tickets being returned by Olympic Committee officials who are unable to use them.
200,000 tickets are still available across the Games. Disappointing sales on football tickets mean that there are also over 100,000 tickets available for that sport. The low sales for football may be because many of the matches are being played outside of London, in Coventry, Manchester, Newcastle, Cardiff in Wales and Glasgow in Scotland, as well as at Wembley Stadium in London.
Other sports with tickets still available include:
1) Athletics Race Walk, The Mall, Men’s and Women’s Medal day on August 11th.
2) Basketball, especially women’s although some men’s games also. The earlier games are at the Basketball Arena in Olympic Park while the finals are at North Greenwich Arena.
3) Beach Volleyball. Tickets are available for every session including the medal games. All are in Horse Guards Parade which is wonderfully historic London – it’s where the Queen recently oversaw the Trooping of the Guards as part of her Diamond Jubilee.
4) Boxing. Tickets still available to many of the early sessions though mostly the medal sessions are sold out.
5) Canoe Slalom at Lee Valley is currently sold out, but the Canoe Sprint at Eton Dorney near Windsor Castle has tickets available.
6) Mountain Bike Cycling still has tickets available for the medal days on Aug 11th-12th.
Road Cycling is open access along the route although the start and finishes in The Mall and at Hampton Court Palace are ticketed and largely sold out. Track Cycling in the magnificent Velodrome is not surprisingly fully booked already.
7) Diving surprisingly still has many tickets available including for the medal rounds, all at the Aquatic Centre at Olympic Park.
8) Equestrian events at Greenwich Park still have tickets available.
9) Fencing at ExCel still has available seats.
10) Gymnastics including Rhythmic, Trampoline and Artistic all have some session tickets available.
11) Handball is well booked up but there are some games with tickets still available including a few for the Women’s Gold Medal match and the Men’s Bronze Medal.
12) Hockey at the Riverbank Arena in Olympic Park still has some tickets available.
13) The Pentathlon has tickets available for the riding and medal ceremony rounds at Greenwich Park.
14) Sailing to be held on the south coast in Dorset still has tickets available to some sessions.
15) Swimming in the wonderful Aquatics Centre still has tickets available to some sessions including the finals. The Synchronised Swimming is booked out.
16) Table Tennis at ExCel still has tickets available across many sessions.
17) Taekwondo also at ExCel has some early session tickets available.
18) Volleyball at Earls Court has many sessions with tickets still available.
19) Weightlifting at ExCel still has tickets but the Wrestling, also at Excel, is nearly completely sold out.
20) The Open Ceremony still has tickets available but only if you’re willing to buy the best seats and pay either £1,600 or £2,000. And the Closing Ceremony tickets available range from £655 to £1,500.
Then there are the freebies we can all see, including the Road Cycling and the Marathon. Just check out the street routes and find yourself a good place to stand.
And don’t forget the big screens in Hyde Park, Victoria Park and other locations in and out of London.
Read more about the Olympics.
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