London 2012 Ticketshare scheme to benefit ‘Tickets For Troops’

The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) has confirmed that its Ticketshare scheme has been extended and that London 2012 will be working with the organisation ‘Tickets For Troops’ to provide up to 10,000 tickets for servicemen and women and their families.

The London 2012 Ticketshare scheme was launched last month and will see proceeds from the Prestige ticketing programme used to donate tickets to worthy causes.

The confirmation of the link-up with ‘Tickets for Troops’ follows the news that school children across the UK will receive tickets via the London 2012 Get Set education programme. Full details of how the tickets are to be distributed will be issued in due course.

Samantha Cameron, wife of the Prime Minister and a Tickets For Troops patron, welcomed the news: ‘It is fantastic that so many of our heroic troops will be able to cheer on our sporting heroes at the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012. I am thrilled that 10,000 troops and their families will be able to enjoy this important national event.’

LOCOG Chair Sebastian Coe commented: ‘At this time of year it is especially apt that we take time to think of our servicemen and women so I am delighted that the Ticketshare scheme will include them – and their families. The Games are rightly a source of great national pride – as are those who serve in the forces and I look forward to seeing some of them at the Games in the summer of 2012.’

Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and Olympics and a former Army Major, said: ‘London 2012 will be a time for national celebration and pride and I am delighted that some of our Forces will be able to attend the Games, given their dedication and commitment to our country. As a former serviceman myself, I know that our troops and their families will really appreciate this opportunity to enjoy the sporting spectacle of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games first hand.’

Tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Games go on sale in March 2011.