HIGH TICKET DEMAND FOR LONDON 2012 PARALYMPIC GAMES

By Daniel Jackson

With all the hype flooding through the United Kingdom in anticipation of next year’s Olympic Games in London it is interesting to note that the ticket demands for the Paralympic Games are also flourishing.

After the recent application process for the tickets it was officially confirmed by the London 2012 Organising Committee that there were over 100, 000 applicants for over one million tickets. This means that some of the sports have been over subscribed for and ballots will have to be held to allocate the tickets fairly.

The ballots will be held shortly before all payment is taken in by October 31st and then successful applicants will be notified by November 18th. It shows a real passion for sport from the UK and a growing appreciation of the Paralympic Games which have never before had as many as over one million tickets applied for 11 months in advance of the actual event.

The London 2012 Organising Committee CEO Paul Deighton said, ‘We are absolutely delighted by the response to Paralympic Games tickets and we would like to thank the British Public. The UK’s love of sport and support for the Paralympic Movement shows that they have taken the Games to their heart. When the Paralympic Games come home next summer we can look forward with confidence to packed venues cheering on our athletes.’

The Paralympic Games weren’t officially named as ‘The Paralympics’ until 1988 but were initially founded by a small group of British World War II veterans in 1948 and were just a series of handicapped sports that eventually grew in popularity. It wasn’t until 1960 that the games became less exclusive and introduced non war veterans as well.

Since then the games have grown universally in popularity and competition and the high demand already for the games next summer marks another milestone for the continual development of the sport.