Holmes admits to separate Paralympics ticketing plan

LONDON 2012 Paralympic integration director Chris Holmes has insisted there will be a marked difference between tickets for the Olympics and those for the subsequent Paralympics.

PARALYMPIC TICKETING PLAN: Locog Paralympic integration director Chris Holmes admits there will be a separate ticketing plan for the London Paralympics

With Locog chief executive Paul Deighton anxious to raise £400m through Olympic ticket sales, the original plan to sell seats for as low as £15 is now a distant pipedream.

And while Locog are expected to reveal a new Olympic pricing strategy in 2010, Holmes is adamant there will be a completely different plan for the 2012 Paralympic Games.

The Beijing Paralympics in 2008 became known as the 'people's Games' with filled-out stadiums for nearly every event.

But Holmes is ambitious to go one better than Beijing and insists his target is for spectators to be desperate to buy tickets rather than receiving them for free.

"We're doing our first cut of the Paralympic ticketing strategy and we're not just looking at having the same as for the Olympics as the Paralympics," said Holmes, who won nine golds as a Paralympic swimmer.

"We appreciate there is a difference and it's a very different market which we're selling into.

"Beijing put on a splendid show but we need to remember that it couldn't really be said that they sold all their tickets.

"They got rid of all their tickets, but we're looking to take the Games on to another level where there is a value of people wanting to buy those tickets because they know they're going to go and watch particular British Paralympians go and win medals.

"We want the stadiums full and alive and excited by the sports that are going to be in front of the people lucky enough to have tickets."

The Paralympic ticketing plan is set to be confirmed in January 2010 and may be accompanied by the announcement of the host broadcaster for the event after the tendering process ended last week.

Although the preference from within the British Paralympic Association is for a free-to-air broadcaster, Locog opened the table to all offers with the standard of commercial value likely to win the day.

And while the Telegraph named BBC and Sky among three prospective bidders, Holmes was staying tight-lipped about the tendering process.

 "We've had some excellent offers in and we're going through a rigorous process at the moment," said Holmes.

"We fully appreciate how important the host broadcaster will be and we're looking to be in the position to announce that in the New Year.

"But we don't want to give details on the parties involved.

"They will give presentations to us and we will look at whether they can deliver on a high level with really great production values, not just at the Games but as soon as they sign on the dotted line.

"But within that an important element - although not the most important- is the commercial value which broadcasters are prepared to put to it.

"We need to assess the market's appetite for the Games, so when we hand over the baton to Rio they are in the position where we've developed a Paralympic asset which didn't really exist before London."