CoSport, the official London Games ticketing partner for the U.S., Australia and Canada, "was the subject of complaints in the US last week after it told hundreds of purchasers to collect their tickets from a box office in London," according to Owen Gibson of the GUARDIAN. More than 200 people were lining up at the City of Westminster College's Paddington campus and some "had to leave without collecting their tickets, while others found that they had bought a group of tickets that were scattered around huge venues." CoSport last week said that around 500 of the 14,000 tickets it had sold to U.S. purchasers "had yet to be posted, and told buyers to travel to London without them and to pick them up from the Paddington office." The USOC gave CoSport the "exclusive contract to handle distribution of tickets and hospitality packages for the London Games." The company, "owned by the controversial Seattle millionaire Sead Dizdarevic," also sponsors the USOC until '20. Reports last week indicated that CoSport "was sending out tickets to members of the public that were originally intended for Games sponsors." Resellers outside of the U.K. are "allowed to charge a 20% premium on the face value of the tickets under IOC rules, but not on tickets meant for sponsors" (GUARDIAN, 7/24).
DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS: In London, Martyn Ziegler notes Games tickets were "at the centre of chaotic scenes on Monday as fans waited in the hot sun for up to six hours." A LOCOG spokesperson said, "They have had issues with the distribution of tickets, something has gone wrong with how they are allocated and distributed. We are aware of the problems and anyone who has been affected is advised to contact the CoSport call centre which has been set up in London." Ziegler notes, "Angry fans also posted messages on online Olympics forums criticising the agency" (London TELEGRAPH, 7/24). The GLOBE & MAIL's Carys Mills notes, "No comment was immediately available from CoSport's Canadian office, which directs callers to a U.K. phone number, where the voicemail is full" (GLOBE & MAIL, 7/24).
