LONDON 2012: Volleyball show court is same size as Wimbledon...now time to sell the tickets

IT'S one of London 2012's iconic venues - set in the heart of the capital, surrounded by the imposing architecture of Whitehall, with the London Eye rising above the skyline.

SPECTACLE: Horse Guards Parade is set to play host to the London 2012 beach volleyball competition - CLICK TO ENLARGE (Populous)

But plans revealed for the temporary beach volleyball venue today show the scale of Olympic organisers Locog's task when it comes to ticketing.

The venue certainly looks spectacular and will provide some memorable television pictures but its 15,000 capacity - the same size as Wimbledon's Centre Court  - will take some filling.

Beach volleyball - a sport in which Great Britain have what can be most politely described as slim medal hopes, having failed to qualify any team for Beijing - is not big news in the UK. 

But those seats will need to be filled for a total of 108 matches spread across 14 days of competition.

Tickets for preliminary matches start at £20 but rise to £95, the cheapest seat to be watch the final will be £95. Taking a family of four to watch the quarter-finals, and paying for a mid-range seat, will cost £300.

Beijing's beach volleyball arena was a 12,000 capacity and organisers frequently relied on volunteers or schoolchildren to fill it.

London 2012 will be hoping that their arena's much more spectacular seating - and the visual on and off court eye candy - will be enough.

"We will not get away with empty stadiums in London," said chairman Seb Coe, earlier this month.

He better hope that beach volleyball is about to become the next big thing.

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