How to get Paralympics tickets and watch the games for free
The Olympics may be over but the Paralympics will soon be upon us. Here's how to bag yourself some tickets.
Bradley Wiggins, Chris Hoy and Jessica Ennis may have been the talk of the town for the past two weeks but there’s now a whole bunch of new sporting stars to cheer on in the Paralympic Games.
It’s the perfect antidote to anyone who may be feeling a bit lost after the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games last week and the good news is there are still some tickets up for grabs to the Games, which start on the 29 August.
They run for two weeks and so far a record number of tickets have been sold, with 600,000 going in the last month alone.
How can I get tickets?
If you’re dying to get a bit of the Paralympic action there are still tickets available on the official website. However, these are selling out fast so don’t wait until the last minute as you’re likely to be disappointed.
All sessions in the Olympic park have sold out but it’s expected more tickets will be released over the next two weeks and around 400,000 are rumoured to be available.
What’s available?
Getting tickets works on a first-come, first-served basis and right now there are only a limited number on sale, such as tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies which cost between £20 to £500.
On the whole the tickets are cheaper than those for the Olympics, and you should be able to pick them up from £10 for sports such as sitting volleyball or wheelchair fencing. You can also buy day tickets to the Olympic Park so you can go along and soak up the sporting atmosphere while watching the events on big screens.
When will they go on sale?
The official line is these tickets will start to become available from next week, however there’s no set date for this. The best way to secure them is by keeping an eye on the website as much as possible.
The unoffical Twitter feed @2012Ticketalert automatically checks ticket sales and will give details of any that are released. As it's already got more than 50,000 followers, there is a back up account at @2012TicketAler2 in case it crashes.
What can I do with extra tickets?
Tickets for the Paralympic Games which are no longer needed can be resold through the official website. To do this you need to submit them for resale at least seven days before the event.
If the tickets have arrived in the post you will need to send these back, along with any extras you may have bought such as travel cards. Once these have been received you’ll then be sent a confirmation email. If they are then re-sold, you'll be credited for the sale. However, if the tickets haven’t been resold within five days of the event, these will be returned to you.
Are there any discounts available?
Special discounted tickets are available to all the Paralympic events apart from the opening and closing ceremony. These are for people aged under 16 or over 60 and cost £5. When buying one of these tickets for a young person, you need to buy at least one full price or senior ticket at the same time to get the discount.
Where can I buy tickets?
The only place to buy tickets is from the official website. The penalties are very stringent if you’re found buying or selling tickets through a website such as eBay. There’s a list of known unauthorised websites claiming to offer tickets so make sure you avoid these.
Where can I watch the games for free?
As with the Olympics, certain events are available for anyone to go along and watch even if you don’t have a ticket. There aren't as many chances here, as the cycling track races will take place in Brands Hatch, but you can go along and watch the marathon, as the start and end points are the only places along the route where you’ll need a ticket.
However, to have a chance to seeing anything you’ll need to arrive early to secure a good spot. Maps of the routes can be found on the official website which will also indicate the best spots for watching the events for free.
If you can't get to London
The BBC has set up big screens across the country to let people watch the Paralympic games. It's free and screens can be found in locations such as Festival Square in Edinburgh, Exchange Gate in Manchester, Humberstone Gate in Leicester and Armada Way in Plymouth. A full list of venues can be found on the Big Screen website.
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