LOCOG 'too secretive over sale of 2012 tickets' in scathing London Assembly report

[richard]

Organisers of the London 2012 Olympics have been criticised for being secretive about ticket sales in a scathing London Assembly report.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog) has been able to withhold information about tickets for the Games amid the frenzied sales because of its status as a private company.

This makes it exempt from Freedom of Information requests, the London Assembly's economy, culture and sport committee noted.

After a two-year campaign, the committee is still demanding answers to a range of questions about the 8.8million Olympic and 2million Paralympics tickets available to the public.

Committee chairman Dee Doocey said: 'Locog's legal status should not excuse them from the transparency and openness we expect in other areas of public life.'

The committee said London 2012 had not provided a detailed breakdown of how many tickets had been sold at what price for each event.

In late 2010, London 2012 suggested that out of the 8.8million Olympic tickets, 2.5million would cost £20 or less.

It has refused to provide information to prove whether cheaper tickets were spread equally across all events, or concentrated in events such as football, where supply exceeds demand.

The committee hopes that a letter to the Olympic Board, which oversees London 2012, may unlock this information.

Miss Doocey said: 'It is completely unacceptable that an organisation that only exists because of a huge investment of public money can hide behind its status as a private company to avoid questions it does not like.

'For most people, the Games will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so it's vital they have confidence in the ticketing process, particularly those who have missed out on tickets.

'Locog is putting public confidence at risk by refusing to provide a complete breakdown of how many tickets were available for each event.

'We always knew that ticket allocation would be difficult and would disappoint some people.

'But if Locog had been open and transparent right from the start, a lot of public suspicion and anger could have been avoided.'

A London 2012 spokesman said: 'We are committed to providing a full breakdown of ticket sales and believe the best time to do this is once we have completed the final sales process.'


Source
www.dailymail.co.uk

[richard]

Does this make LOCOG a quango?

[1m155 ewe]

A very wealthy Private QUANGO by the end of the games.
Its a private firm that happens to be running a state funded event.. go figure
The small percentage of tickets that went to the "face value" resellers happen to be sought after events at prime locations

[richard]

So are they registered and filing their accounts on time at Companies House?

Does anyone know their company registration number?

[richard]

Just an update to my earlier post.

LOCOG (THE LONDON ORGANISING COMMITTEE OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES) are indeed registered at Companies House - http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/

Details as below:

Name & Registered Office:
THE LONDON ORGANISING COMMITTEE OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES AND PARALYMPIC GAMES LIMITED
ONE CHURCHILL PLACE
CANARY WHARF
LONDON
E14 5LN
Company No. 05267819


Status: Active
Date of Incorporation: 22/10/2004

Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Company Type: PRI/LTD BY GUAR/NSC (Private, limited by guarantee, no share capital)
Nature of Business (SIC):
93110 - Operation of sports facilities
Accounting Reference Date: 30/09
Last Accounts Made Up To: 31/03/2011 (FULL)
Next Accounts Due: 30/06/2013
Last Return Made Up To: 22/10/2011
Next Return Due: 19/11/2012
Previous Names:
Date of change Previous Name
01/06/2007 THE LONDON ORGANISING COMMITTEE OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES LIMITED

I assume from the above that the accounts should be available for inspection for a nominal sum of money.