Commonwealth Games: Ticket allocations revealed
Hundreds of thousands of people vying for seats at the sporting spectacle began to learn whether their applications had been successful late on Monday afternoon.
Those who received e-mails from the Games organisers informing them they would be witnessing the action first-hand next summer said they were “elated” and “surprised.”
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Hide AdOthers, however, expressed regret at missing out on their chosen sports at the biggest sporting event ever staged in Scotland.
With demand far outstripping supply for tickets – organisers revealed they had received around 2.3 million applications for a million tickets – sports fans faced an anxious wait yesterday.
Jamie Cutteridge, a 25-year-old journalist from London, missed out on track cycling, but was more than satisfied to get athletics tickets for the men’s 5,000-metre final and 100-metre heats.
“I almost forgot I had applied for tickets, and what events I had gone for,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll see Mo Farah win a gold medal and see Usain Bolt as well. It should be a good evening.”
Jen Marr, from Aberdeenshire, applied for four tickets for hockey and badminton, sports she played at school.
Describing the moment she opened her e-mail, the 24-year-old said: “I was blown away actually – I applied for the tickets just a few days before the closing date as I didn’t really believe I would be lucky enough to receive them.”
The 24-year-old added: “I’m most looking forward to soaking up the atmosphere in Glasgow.”
Margaret Curran MP, the shadow secretary of state for Scotland, was among the successful batch of applicants, claiming two £40 tickets to the evening of the men’s 100 metres final.
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Hide AdShe said: “I wasn’t expecting to get any tickets in the ballot, so I’m thrilled.”
Others, however, were left disconsolate after missing out, even if some secured tickets for their second choices.
Samantha Bye, from Reading, a keen gymnastics fan, wrote on Twitter: “Only got boxing tickets for the Commonwealth Games out of the six lots I applied for. No gymnastics, devastated.”
Another Twitter user, Ruth Jones, wrote: “No Olympic tickets and now no Commonwealth Games tickets – gutted doesn’t begin to describe it, and even worse, the kids were really excited to go.”
The process of informing all the applicants whether they have secured tickets will continue until Saturday. Those who missed out will be offered the opportunity to try again for tickets.
GLASGOW 2014