WHO CAN BUY TICKETS FOR 2010 GAMES?

Canadian Residents

All Canadian residents, regardless of citizenship, are eligible to purchase tickets for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Requirements/Essential Information:

• Canadian residents must have a current and valid Canadian mailing address (P.O. boxes are not considered valid).
• You must be available to sign for the secure courier delivery of tickets in late 2009.
• Only one ticket account per person can be created.
• Only one ticket request per person can be submitted
• Visa is the official payment card of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. No other payment card will be accepted. For additional information on payment and pricing, see Ticket Prices or Ticketing Program FAQs.
• A request will only be processed per person using a single payment option. A ticket request, for example, cannot be paid for using a Visa card and a money order. Only one ticket request will be processed per Visa card.*
• A maximum of four applications per delivery address is permitted.

* Applicable during Request Period only - October 3 through November 7, 2008

Hospitality Packages

CoSport, sister company of Jet Set Sports, the Official Hospitality Services provider to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, offers packages of accommodation and tickets in Canada. Visit Cosport.com for more information or visit JetSetSports.com for information on corporate hospitality packages.

Outside Canada - International Ticket Sales

The sales process for Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games tickets is only applicable to Canadian residents. For those living outside Canada, regardless of citizenship, you must purchase tickets through the official ticket agent for your National Olympic Committee (NOC). For example, US residents (including Canadian citizens living in the US) must purchase tickets to the 2010 Winter Games through CoSport, an affiliate company of Jet Set Sports, the official ticket sales agent of the US Olympic Committee (USOC).

For a list of National Olympic Committees and Official Ticket Agents, see International Ticket Sales.

Persons with Disabilities

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) is committed to providing accessible venues and services for both the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2010, and extends a warm welcome to spectators with disabilities. All venues have been reviewed for accessibility. This includes consideration for persons who are blind or visually impaired, persons who are Deaf or hard of hearing and persons with mobility and/or agility impairments.

When purchasing tickets, you’ll have an opportunity to indicate whether you require accessible seating. If you indicate that you do require accessible seating, and are allocated tickets, a representative will contact you to discuss your requirements so that the appropriate seating arrangements can be made.

2010 Olympic Winter Games Ticketing Timeline:

Tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be sold in four phases, with the first phase starting October 3, 2008. Every step of the ticket program is designed to be simple, fair and accessible for any Canadian resident who's interested in attending the Games.

Phase 1: Starts October 3, 2008

Phase 1 of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games ticket program has four stages: Request Period, Lottery, Notification Period and Priority Access Period.

Request Period (October 3-November 7): These five weeks offer Canadian residents the best chance of securing the Games tickets they want.

• Once your application is submitted, your Visa card will be checked for authenticity, though no payments will be charged until the random automated selection period.

Lottery (November 8-28): In cases where ticket demand exceeds the available supply, our official supplier of ticketing services, Tickets.com, will use an automated random selection process (lottery) to ensure the fairest possible ticket distribution on a session by session basis (for example each session you have requested, if oversubscribed, will be subject to a separate lottery). Your Visa card will be charged immediately upon allocation of tickets if you are randomly selected.

Notification Period (By December 10): All applicants will be notified via e-mail regarding the status of their request and which sessions and/or packages they may have secured. Seat locations will be confirmed in late 2009.

Priority Access Period (December 12-22): Any tickets not purchased during the initial Request Period will be re-released for sale exclusively to Canadian residents who submitted a request during the Request Period and is an opportunity to purchase additional tickets before they're again made available to the wider Canadian public. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Confirmation of your purchase will be immediate and payment will be charged at that time.

Phase 2: Mid 2009

Tickets remaining after Phase 1 will go on sale to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis. Canadian residents who missed the initial request period can purchase tickets directly through vancouver2010.com or by calling the Vancouver 2010 Ticketing Call Centre at 1-800-TICKETS (1-800-842-5387).

Seat Assignment Period: Summer 2009

Ticket sales will close for a period of time once venue seating configurations have been finalized. Seat locations will then be assigned for all tickets purchased to that point, based on the following:

• Tickets purchased during Phase 1 will be assigned seats prior to those purchased in Phase 2, however seat locations will be randomly assigned within each price category by the ticketing system.
• Tickets purchased at the same time will be assigned together, and best efforts will be made to seat all tickets in an account together. For example, if you purchased four tickets to a women’s ice hockey session in Phase 1, those four tickets will be seated together. If you then purchased another four tickets to the same event in Phase 2, we will make every effort to seat them with the tickets purchased in Phase 1.

Phase 3: Fall 2009

Ticket sales will re-open once the seat assignment period ends. Tickets purchased from this point forward will automatically be matched with a seat location.

Phase 4: Games Time! February 12–28, 2010

All 2010 Olympic Winter Games venue box offices will open on the first day of competition at that venue. Please check the official competition schedule by sport for complete details. Available tickets can be purchased through vancouver2010.com, at the Main Ticket Centre or at any box office at Games time.