Glasgow 2014: Commonwealth tickets back on sale

The remaining tickets are to be released in a 'phased approach'. Picture: PA

About 50,000 tickets remain and they are to be released in a “phased approach” over the next three days to manage demand on the dedicated website and phoneline.

Problems emerged almost immediately after the final tickets for Glasgow 2014 went on sale on Monday last week, with numerous complaints about long delays and issues with finalising transactions.

Sales were temporarily suspended in the early hours of Tuesday morning but, after a second day of problems, Glasgow 2014 suspended all sales until the issues could be fully resolved by Ticketmaster, which is handling the sales.

It also emerged that some fans who called the dedicated phone line were charged while listening to an engaged tone, with some customers running up bills of more than £100.

Glasgow 2014 chief executive David Grevemberg said today there had been “intermittent issues” which had not affected all customers.

He added that since then the system had been tested and re-tested ahead of the start of the resale, but warned people that “high demand” meant they could still face queues.

Mr Grevemberg told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland: “The original problems experienced last week were intermittent issues that didn’t affect everyone.

“It really wasn’t one root cause, we had long queues, we had some transactional challenges, but Ticketmaster has undertaken a full, complete review of the system.

“They have checked, tested, re-tested the system and are very confident now that customers are going to have a much, much better experience.

“Really, we’re now focused on selling those tickets and ensuring everyone who wants to be a part of the Games can be a part of the Games.”

He added: “We do expect high demand, so there still will be queues, so people should plan accordingly.

“But all of the systems have been checked.”

He refused to say if Games bosses were seeking compensation from Ticketmaster for the problems.

“Right now our main focus has just been working closely with Ticketmaster to address these issues,” Mr Grevemberg said.

“Obviously we have a contract with Ticketmaster and we will be looking to that contract. But our focus has really been about getting these tickets back on sale.

“This has been one of our priorities over the last week, since these challenges. But working very closely with Ticketmaster, I’m confident that we’ve taken the steps necessary to give people a better experience.

“We’re very confident that today and tomorrow and Friday, as we start the phased release of these tickets, that we will start to get these tickets sold and we’re very excited.”

The remaining seats at the opening and closing ceremonies for the Games were going on sale this morning, along with tickets to watch team sports such as hockey, netball and rugby sevens.

Tomorrow, athletics, badminton, squash and table tennis will go on sale, alongside any unsold tickets from today’s release, and all remaining tickets for weightlifting, bowls, rhythmic gymnastics, shooting, boxing, judo and wrestling will be available from Friday.

Diving, swimming, cycling, gymnastics and triathlon are already sold out, Glasgow 2014 said.

About 2.3 million applications were made for the initial one million tickets released last year, with athletics, aquatics and cycling proving the most popular events.

A Glasgow 2014 spokesperson said: “The ticketing website and hotline have both continued to be busy. We’re pleased, however, to report that throughout the day queues have been minimal as thousands of customers have successfully secured tickets.

“We’re delighted with the enthusiasm shown across all the team sports and ceremonies.

“We have another big day tomorrow (Thursday) with available tickets for Athletics and Racquet sports going on sale from 10am. We expect this to be another high-demand day as people book their place in history at Scotland’s biggest ever sporting festival.

“We thank everyone for their passionate support so far. While there are still lots of great opportunities to be part of the Games, tickets are selling fast so don’t leave it too late to buy, especially if you have specific events or days you want to be part of.”

Details on how to purchase the tickets can be found at glasgow2014.com.

• Have you been attempting to purchase Glasgow 2014 tickets today? Let us know how you got on by tweeting us at @thescotsman.

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