OCM APPEAL FOR ADDITIONAL TICKETS FOR LONDON OLYMPICS

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 (Bernama) -- The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) has requested for an additional 30 to 40 tickets from organizers of the 2012 London Olympic Games due to increased demand from local sports associations, especially for the finals of badminton and track cycling.

OCM honorary secretary Datuk Sieh Kok Chi said the 646 tickets, compared with 999 tickets previously, allocated for the council was insufficient for the needs of sports associations.

"The OCM is appealing for additional tickets but will have to wait till end July as organizers will vote to determine which country received whatever tickets that are left after global ticket sales ended on April 24," he told Bernama here Thursday.

The Olympic Games organizers are offering 8.8 million tickets, of which 75 per cent or 6.6 million tickets will be sold in Britain and the European Union, while the rest will be sold to other continents.

Sieh said the 646 tickets allocated for the OCM was 30 per cent less than the allocation received during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

He said the public can directly book their tickets from the appointed agent, Aristeia Sports Communication (ASC), to witness the biggest sporting event to be held in London, from July 27 to Aug 12 next year.

Reservations can be made via the website: malaysia.london@aristeiasport.com.

During the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, Malaysians bought 200 tickets while 1,000 were sold for the Beijing Olympics.

Badminton and track cycling are the two sports in which Malaysian athletes aim to win the country's first ever Olympic gold, and tickets for these events start from 130 pounds (RM636) for the preliminary round and 190 pounds (RM929) for the finals.