Glasgow 2014: Second chance for Games tickets

An artist's impression of the Gymnastics arena for Glasgow 2014. Picture: Contributed

GLASGOW 2014 TICKETS - WHEN CAN YOU GET THEM?

• If you applied in the first round and got nothing - from 21-26 October

• If you applied for tickets and were partially successful - from 23-26 October

• If you were awarded all the tickets you applied for - from 25-26 October

• If you didn’t apply for tickets in round one - Tickets may be available at a later date

Before more tickets go on general sale later this month, there will be an exclusive opportunity for the many who applied but were left disappointed to purchase tickets.

The tickets will be available for sale on a first-come, first-served basis on the official Glasgow 2014 ticketing website later this month.

The sale period will run from 21 to 26 October, with the first two days dedicated solely to those who received no tickets from their application.

From 23 October, applicants who received some of their requested tickets will be able to apply as well.

On the last two days of the sale period, everyone who applied for tickets will have a second chance to top up their ticket account before all remaining tickets go on general public sale.

The initial application phase for tickets during August and September was heavily oversubscribed, with 2.3 million requests for one million tickets.

The demand confirmed Glasgow 2014 as one of the most popular events in Scotland’s history, with 17 sports available across 11 days of top-flight competition.

But the organisers have come in for criticism on social media as thousands of people who applied did not receive any tickets.

The main complaint was that the random draw system used to allocate tickets for sports which were oversubscribed did not take into account whether applicants had already been successful in getting tickets for other events.

However, the organisers insisted that allocations for each session were drawn individually to ensure it was “fair and simple” and no bias was given to anyone “regardless of their success in other draws for other sessions”.

Ty Speer, deputy chief executive of Glasgow 2014, said of the second-chance tickets: “I’m delighted we’re now able to offer this exclusive on-sale period to those who have already demonstrated their commitment and enthusiasm for Glasgow 2014 through their applications for tickets.

“There are still a wealth of opportunities to experience world-class competition across a wide range of sports. For everyone who wants to be part of the UK’s next big sporting festival, this is the best opportunity to secure tickets.”

He added that organisers would be contacting everyone who had applied for tickets to make them aware of the new opportunity.

However, it also emerged yesterday that some applicants from the first round of ticketing had yet to hear if they had been successful or not.

A Glasgow 2014 spokesman said: “We recognise that a limited number of people have not yet received emails.

However, all Glasgow 2014 ticket applicants can now view their allocation by logging into the official Glasgow 2014 ticketing website and using their customer reference number.”