2012 London Olympic Games ticket prices released

Ticket prices for events at the 2012 London Olympic Games have been released, with the coveted men's 100m final costing up to £725.

Organisers London 2012 also revealed tickets for the opening ceremony would cost between £20.12 and £2,012.

Of the 8.8 million tickets available, 75% will be sold to the public from March 2011.

And 125,000 tickets are being set aside to be given to schoolchildren who will have to achieve something to earn them.

There is wide range of prices for the 39 disciplines and 649 sports sessions.

London 2012 said 90% of tickets would be £100 or less, 66% less than £50 and about 25% costing £20 or less.

The cost of viewing the men's 100m final is from £50 to £725, while tickets to see the women's 100m final range from £50 to £450.

Other premium events, such as the cycling finals, will range from £50 to £325 and the diving finals will cost between £50 and £450.

Parts of some events such as the marathon, road cycling and the triathlon will be free.

From March, people can register an interest in an event and, if it is over-subscribed, they will be entered into a ballot.

So far 1.7 million people have registered their interest with London 2012.

The organisers have said they are acting to ensure there will not be a repeat of the scenes of near-empty stadiums at some of Commonwealth Games' events in Delhi this month.

London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe described it as the "the daddy of all ticket strategies" adding: "We have three clear principles for our ticketing strategy: tickets need to be affordable and accessible to as many people as possible, tickets are an important revenue stream for us to fund the Games, and our ticketing plans have the clear aim of filling our venues to the rafters."

Resell scheme

January's VAT rise has already been absorbed into the pricing, London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton said.

People who do not use their tickets will also be able to resell them at face value through London 2012, Mr Deighton explained.

There is also a scheme for those aged 16 and under, with the cost of a ticket the same as the child's age.

About 200 non-premium sporting sessions will be available as part of this initiative, which also includes the over-60s who will pay just £16.

The government and the mayor of London are each being given 50,000 tickets, while the British Olympic Association has been handed 25,000.

These 125,000 tickets are to be given free to secondary schools which have signed up to the Get Set programme, which asks pupils to achieve a set goal to earn a ticket.

The government wants each school in Britain to receive six free tickets, but London mayor Boris Johnson wants to buy a further 75,000 to provide one in eight schoolchildren in London a free ticket to the Games.

He wants an individual or organisation to provide the money to purchase the tickets, but has not yet found a candidate.

London 2012 added that 15% of tickets would go to national and international athletic committees and 10% to stakeholders and sponsors.

The price of closing ceremony tickets will range between £20.12 and £1,500.

Ticket touts

Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said: "I am confident we will have packed stadiums and venues with the range of tickets on offer, meaning that people of all ages and budgets will have the chance to attend London 2012."

A special police unit, Operation Podium, is already targeting touts and a number of websites selling illegal Games tickets have been closed, Mr Deighton said.

"To help us crack this stuff we are working closely with search engines to make sure that reselling is stopped at source," he added.

Organisers will also try to prevent sports officials or executives from reselling their allocated tickets at a "dramatically increased rate".

"It is something we do not want. Let's get the tickets in to the hands of those who are definitely going to show," Mr Deighton said.