London Olympics Summer 2012
Jul 12th, 2010, 07:20 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,080
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
London Olympics Summer 2012
Anybody going? We've been to London many times, but are considering making a trek for the Olympics. Can anybody offer tips from personal experience regarding international travel to the Olympic games? Does anyone know of tour companies that specialize in packages with tickets for the big events? Any leads and/or info would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Jul 12th, 2010, 07:42 AM
#2
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 32,129
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Someone could write a book on this subject. We have been to a few Olympic games but each is different. The official ticket process for Beijing was pretty easy for most sports as a lot of westerners did not want to go to China. I suspect the demand for tickets in London may be greater even though the prices will be higher.
You can use an agency but it will be expensive. We are going to use the official process again. You just need to understand the process and get in early. And we have found that sports you might not think of often to be just as entertaining as the name sports. In Beijing, women's handball was a great event. So was weightlifting. Our favourite was archery (simply amazing).
Transportation to the venues can be a major challenge but you have a couple of years to worry about that. Some people suggest staying out of the host city and coming in for events. But with security considerations at each venue that can make for a lot of travelling/standing in line time.
You can use an agency but it will be expensive. We are going to use the official process again. You just need to understand the process and get in early. And we have found that sports you might not think of often to be just as entertaining as the name sports. In Beijing, women's handball was a great event. So was weightlifting. Our favourite was archery (simply amazing).
Transportation to the venues can be a major challenge but you have a couple of years to worry about that. Some people suggest staying out of the host city and coming in for events. But with security considerations at each venue that can make for a lot of travelling/standing in line time.
Jul 12th, 2010, 07:56 AM
#4
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,657
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Building and transport infrastructure improvements for the games are going great guns - I drive past the main site almost daily and it's quite a spectacle (I can see the cranes from my home office window as we speak).
If you want to check out logictics, the main site is in Stratford, in East London. They're doing huge improvements to the rail station (thank God, it needed it). Stratford is easily accessible from Central London by Tube and overland train. Don't stay in Stratford itself - it's a pretty grotty area (which is why they're building the Games there as part of a massive regeneration project).
This Transport for London journeyplanner will show you travel times from Stratford to wherever you might stay:
http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/use...T2?language=en
No doubt you have this link, but for those who don't:
http://www.london2012.com/
If you want to check out logictics, the main site is in Stratford, in East London. They're doing huge improvements to the rail station (thank God, it needed it). Stratford is easily accessible from Central London by Tube and overland train. Don't stay in Stratford itself - it's a pretty grotty area (which is why they're building the Games there as part of a massive regeneration project).
This Transport for London journeyplanner will show you travel times from Stratford to wherever you might stay:
http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/use...T2?language=en
No doubt you have this link, but for those who don't:
http://www.london2012.com/
Jul 12th, 2010, 08:52 AM
#5
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Couple of points:
1. Tickets for events are likely to operate quite differently from any previous Olympics. London's the most populous city (apart from Beijing) ever to host - but three upper-middle ranking countries, and two others, are within a 3-4 hour train journey of the main stadium, which is actually a faster train journey from Paris and Brussels than from Birmingham. Given the exceptional accessibilty of stadia (apart from the rowing and yachting, they're practically all within a few mins of a tube station), a remarkable proportion of events are likely to be popular. Londoners might not be interested in every event (indeed, given our phlegmatic nature, possibly not in any events) - but there's bound to be abn unprecedented number of Frenchmen or Germans wanting to watch a national hero in tiddleywinks.
2. Put it another way: the venues are amazingly accessible from central Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and central London. They're a total pain in the arse to get to from Manchester, and most are pretty bloody messy to get to from Brighton or Oxford. Commuting in from Lille will be easy if pricey: commuting in from most of outer London won't. But, for the first time in recorded history, the north-eastern periphery (from Cambridge to Colchester) might be a handy place to stay
1. Tickets for events are likely to operate quite differently from any previous Olympics. London's the most populous city (apart from Beijing) ever to host - but three upper-middle ranking countries, and two others, are within a 3-4 hour train journey of the main stadium, which is actually a faster train journey from Paris and Brussels than from Birmingham. Given the exceptional accessibilty of stadia (apart from the rowing and yachting, they're practically all within a few mins of a tube station), a remarkable proportion of events are likely to be popular. Londoners might not be interested in every event (indeed, given our phlegmatic nature, possibly not in any events) - but there's bound to be abn unprecedented number of Frenchmen or Germans wanting to watch a national hero in tiddleywinks.
2. Put it another way: the venues are amazingly accessible from central Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and central London. They're a total pain in the arse to get to from Manchester, and most are pretty bloody messy to get to from Brighton or Oxford. Commuting in from Lille will be easy if pricey: commuting in from most of outer London won't. But, for the first time in recorded history, the north-eastern periphery (from Cambridge to Colchester) might be a handy place to stay
Jul 15th, 2010, 02:57 PM
#7
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 321
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Back in 2004 we drove from UK to Athens for the Olympics - we had applied for a whole number of tickets through the public application process and got every single one of our first choices - it was our first time attending an Olympic Games and we agonised over whether to book accommodation in Athens before we arrived. It was all so expensive though and so in the end we decided to risk finding somewhere when we arrived. We had a tense morning in Athens the day we got there but everything worked out great and we found a new hotel that had just opened that was cheaper and better located than anything we had looked at when we thought we should book in advance.
Now I'm not saying that you will find something as good or as easily in London but I'd just advise, from personal experience, that it may be worth just putting a day into the schedule where you search for accommodation. Check out travel times and distances and know where you will be looking for accommodation - we did this in Athens - and that is good advice from Flanneruk that places some distance away may be good bets. I'd bank on there being last minute accommodation as supply will be huge.
It will be the trip of a lifetime.
Now I'm not saying that you will find something as good or as easily in London but I'd just advise, from personal experience, that it may be worth just putting a day into the schedule where you search for accommodation. Check out travel times and distances and know where you will be looking for accommodation - we did this in Athens - and that is good advice from Flanneruk that places some distance away may be good bets. I'd bank on there being last minute accommodation as supply will be huge.
It will be the trip of a lifetime.
Jul 15th, 2010, 04:49 PM
#8
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 5,142
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
We're planning on dropping in on some family and friends!
I'd really like to go to the opening ceremony. How early should we apply for tickets? Is there already a date set when you can start applying?
Kate, the site development sounds exciting. Take some photos!
I'd really like to go to the opening ceremony. How early should we apply for tickets? Is there already a date set when you can start applying?
Kate, the site development sounds exciting. Take some photos!
Jul 16th, 2010, 12:20 PM
#9
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,921
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Best to keep an eye on both the ticketing announcements and the site development at www.london2012.com.
You can register (= go on their mailing list) now.
You can register (= go on their mailing list) now.
Oct 7th, 2010, 09:59 AM
#11
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
We went to the Salt Lake Olympics and it was amazing. Planning to take the family of four to London. I have signed up through the official site to be alerted when tickets go on sale, but it seems like UK residents get them first, and then everyone else has to go through their own country's olympic committee. The USOC is not the most organized. Does anyone know about US citizens getting tickets?
Oct 28th, 2010, 12:52 PM
#12
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Just heard from the USOC and their official ticket agency is CoSport. You can sign up with them for updates, information, etc. and it looks like the tickets will go on sale in March of 2011. The website is www.cosport.com. Go USA!
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Nancy45
Europe
25
Jul 22nd, 2005 06:58 AM
