London Olympic Games tickets go on sale March 15

Tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Games will go on sale on March 15, chairman of the organising committee Sebastian Coe announced on Saturday.

Sports fans will have six weeks - from March 15 to April 26 - to apply for the 6.6 million public tickets.

They can apply at any time in that period because it is not a first come, first served process. Any oversubscribed events will be allocated by ballot after the deadline.

"On 15 March, the application process opens to be part of the greatest show on earth," said Coe, a former middle distance champion who twice won Olympic gold for Britain in the 1500 metres.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the world's greatest athletes going for gold in the UK - a chance for people to see their favourite sport and perhaps try a new one."

Tickets for the London Paralympics will go on sale on September 9 after prices are announced in May, he added.

Two million people so far have registered an interest in buying tickets for the Olympics, which are priced from 20 pounds (24 euros, 32 dollars) to as much as 725 pounds (860 euros, 1,150 dollars) for the showpiece 100 metres athletic final.

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