Boris Johnson agrees that Olympic ticket system is 'an oddity'

Boris Johnson today admitted the Olympic ticketing system was a "bit peculiar".

The Mayor said it was an "administrative oddity" that money would be taken from bank accounts and credit cards before people discover what events they have secured tickets for.

But he said it was "not the end of the world" because applicants knew the deal before they applied.

The 1.8 million people who applied for Olympic tickets were advised to ensure they have enough funds in their accounts this week as the first payments were taken.

Mr Johnson told the Commons culture media and sport select committee that he had not yet checked whether money had been "sucked out" of his account for the "rich variety" of events he had applied for.

Asked if he thought it was a "good system", Mr Johnson replied: "I think it is a bit peculiar that it is that way round. It is an administrative oddity but it is not the end of the world...

"The critical thing really with tickets is going to be managing people's disappointment - mild or otherwise - about what they have got."
But the Mayor insisted it had been a "very, very well run operation" and that people would get a "second bite of the cherry" to apply for under-subscribed events.

He also said there were "no mayoral freebie tickets" because of the "frugality of the regime" and "hairshirt approach" at City Hall. A small number of ticket orders have been processed but many applicants will have to check their bank accounts and credit cards to discover if they are among the first to be dealt with because Games organisers are not sending out notifications.

One applicant, a financial services employee from London, said he had "mixed feelings" after receiving £1,300 of tickets from his application for £2,500 of seats. He said he was pleased but had no way of knowing what he had bought. And he could not be sure the debit from his current account was for tickets because details of the payee - organiser Locog - will not appear on his online statement for several days.