By Tim Hume
London 2012 organizers are asking sports federations to return any surplus tickets so they can be onsold, following a public outcry over empty seats at Olympic venues.
While thousands of fans have missed out on tickets, seats in the accredited “Olympic family” areas — reserved for groups including officials, sports federations, athletes, journalists and sponsors — have remained empty at some venues.
A spokeswoman for the organizing committee said about 3,000 tickets had been recovered and sold Sunday via the official London 2012 website.
“We talked to the International Federations yesterday, we were able to put back into the pot for sale around 3,000 tickets last night. They have all been sold,” Jackie Brock-Doyle, the organizing committee’s director of communications, told reporters Monday.
“We’re doing this session by session, talking to the accredited groups, including obviously broadcast media and everybody else, and asking whether we can release, for the different sessions, tickets back into the public pot.”
Politicians and sporting associations have also reacted angrily to the empty seats.
Colin Moynihan, chairman of the British Olympic Association, said full venues were important for athletes and fans, and suggested implementing a “30-minute rule” whereby seats would be forfeited if left vacant. His suggestion was later backed by British Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
Athletes have also expressed dismay that their families have been unable to attend events.
Irish swimmer Barry Murphy tweeted: “Hundreds of empty seats again in the Aquatic Center. My parents would’ve given an arm and leg to get in.”
Indian tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi tweeted: “Been trying for 6 hours now to buy my wife a ticket to watch me play tomorrow. Still no luck, and the grounds here feel empty. Absurd!!!”
The organizing committee said Sunday it was addressing the issue partly by offering empty seats in accredited areas to soldiers who had finished their security shifts, but remained on the grounds.
“If they want to sit there and watch, they can,” said Sebastian Coe, chairman of the organizing committee. “It’s not mobilizing the army to solve this.”