Excellent response to Olympic ticket ballot.
OVER 10,000 tickets for the torch relay evening celebration event in Cleethorpes have been applied for as part of an online ballot.
The deadline for the free tickets closed today at noon (Tuesday, May 29) and successful applicants will in the coming weeks receive an email or a text message confirming where and when their tickets can be collected from.
A total of 8,000 tickets will be issued for the event by North East Lincolnshire Council who continues to work closely with the Olympic Organising Committee on the arrangements for the celebration.
Councillor Mick Burnett, deputy leader and portfolio holder for tourism and culture, said: “The ballot for tickets has, as we expected, been very popular. We received 10,567 applications and we’ve seen the interest build as people have been watching their televisions and the torch relay make its way around the UK.
“The event in Cleethorpes is set to be spectacular and as our time to shine draws ever closer, the excitement is sure to build.
“We will now be approving all of the applications from the ballot, checking that households haven’t applied more than once, and then we’ll be selecting 8,000 successful ticket holders. I must remind people that entry is strictly for ticket holders only, people who don’t have a ticket will be turned away.
“Of course with any ballot there will always be some unsuccessful applicants, but we hope that the torch relay itself will be an equally fantastic opportunity for people to line the streets of Immingham, Cleethorpes and Grimsby and watch the torchbearers as they play their part in helping the torch reach its final destination in London.”
Successful ticket holders will be notified by Friday, June 15, and will be asked to collect their tickets from their nominated collection point – Cleethorpes, Immingham or Grimsby Libraries. Tickets are non-transferable and cannot be used by anyone other than the person whom it is allocated. Identification will be requested at the point of ticket collection.
Unsuccessful applicants will not be notified, so if they haven’t heard from the council by Friday, June 15, they can assume they have been unsuccessful in the ballot.
The Torch Relay Evening Event is at Meridian Park Showground on Tuesday, June 26. Doors open at 4pm and the entertainment starts at 5pm.
It will be a family entertainment show and will end when the final torchbearer of the day lights the cauldron on stage.
For further information about the Olympic events in North East Lincolnshire, visit www.nelincs.gov.uk/2012andbeyond