Demand for 2012 Olympics tickets exceeds 20 million

More than 20million ticket requests have been received for the London 2012 Olympics, organisers announced today.

Some 1.8million people have submitted applications for tickets with many sports already sold out including track cycling, rhythmic gymnastics, triathlon, modern pentathlon, and equestrian (cross country).

The opening and closing ceremonies are also sell-outs and will have a ballot to decide ticket allocations as will most of the sessions in swimming and tennis, and the high-profile athletics sessions.

London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe said: "We are thrilled with the response right across the board, in all sports and all sessions.

"Certain events have seen massive demand - for example the opening ceremony, which is more than 10 times oversubscribed, so there will understandably be disappointment and we will find a way to go back to those people with other tickets.

"What is most encouraging is that the majority of applications are for multiple tickets and for several sports, which shows that friends and family are planning to go to the Games together."

More than half of the 650 sessions are oversubscribed and tickets for these will be allocated via ballots. Some 6.6million tickets have been on sale to the public from March 15 until the window closed at 1am this morning.

London 2012 say they will now check applications before running computerised ballots for those sessions which are oversubscribed.

Money will be taken from people's accounts from May 10 but they will not receive formal confirmation of which events they have been successful in buying tickets for until June.

There will be another chance to buy remaining tickets in June and July.

London 2012 added that more than 95% of the applications came from the UK.