LONDON 2012: Olympic organisers reveal security conscious ticket design

By Sportsbeat staff

LONDON 2012 organisers insist their tickets will boast a number of features designed at preventing touts profiting from the Games.

WANTED: Olympic and Paralympic tickets will feature a number of security measures, according to organisers (Getty Images)

With remaining seats due to go on general sale this week, the official design of tickets, which will shortly start to arrive through letterboxes, has been revealed.

The design of each ticket features the sport pictogram and the colour scheme reflects that of each venue to help spectators reach their destination.

Each ticket will be printed with a hologram, a barcode and name of the booker as well as several other security features to reduce counterfeiting.

Organisers Locog have already admitted it is impractical to expect the person whose name is printed on the ticket to always be present at the turnstiles - although they will be held responsible if they fall into the wrong hands.

"Genuine tickets will have a number of security features built into them to minimise the risk of counterfeits," said Detective Superintendent Nick Downing, who heads the Metropolitan Police's Operation Podium team.  

PRIZED: An Olympic opening ceremony ticket

"The safest way to ensure that your ticket is genuine is to only buy from an authorised seller which can be found on the London 2012 website.   

"If you buy from an unofficial site, you risk paying over the odds for a ticket that may not exist, may not be genuine and you risk not getting to see the Games and your personal details could even be used in other crimes."   

However, the decision to award the £25 million ticket printing contract to a firm based in the United States has provoked strong criticism of organisers, with UK-based printers claiming it was a major snub to their industry at a difficult time.

Weldon, Williams & Lick will print 11 million tickets before shipping the 16-ton cargo to a UK warehouse for distribution.

Locog claim the US firm had experience of working on similar scale projects and delivered value for money after a competitive tendering process.

© Sportsbeat 2012