Olympic ticket ballot: your questions answered

Have I got tickets?
The majority of successful applicants to the Olympic ticket ballot will have payments deducted from their accounts by midnight 31 May.

A small number of other deductions will be taken until 10 June. If you have insufficient funds in your account, Olympic officials will attempt to take the cash a second time. If this is unsuccessful they will contact you and will allow for a few days to put money in your account.

How has the ballot been selected?
The Olympic organisers say the debiting of accounts has been a random selection process to ensure the “fairest possible distribution and allocation of tickets”.

When will I find out what tickets I have got?
For those lucky enough to have money debited from their accounts, notifications will be sent out by 24 June to confirm which tickets have been allocated.

Successful applicants will be notified which event they have tickets to see and which price category those tickets fall in to. Seating plans or numbers will not be revealed until closer to the start of the Olympic Games in May or June 2012.

Can I sell on my tickets?
Tickets can only be resold for face value and only on the official ticket exchange website, which will launch in 2012. Ticket profiteering is illegal.

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Will any other tickets be available to buy?
Any Olympic Games tickets which remain unsold will become available for sale online here and by phone, using Visa only, from winter 2011. Tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis.

Can I buy tickets elsewhere online?
Some tickets can be bought online from another country’s ticket allocations. Handling costs are more expensive, but there is no ballot.

However, online consumers have been warned not to buy tickets from bogus or fake websites – which are plentiful on the internet.

To check whether a website is an official sales channel use the London 2012 website checker. The site also has a list of fraudulent or unofficial Olympic websites.

How can I apply for tickets to the Paralympic Games?
Applications for Paralympic Games tickets will open on 9 September 2011. The process is expected to be similar to the Olympic Games ballot.

Is there another way to watch a sporting event at the Olympic venues?
Test events are being planned for the Olympic venues ahead of the London Olympic Games. Ticketmaster is currently selling passes to the events at a fraction of the price. Test events begin in July with mountain biking and will continue until a few months before the start of the Olympic Games. Click here for more.