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With more than 1.2 million requests for ticket spots that numbered far less at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games - there was bound to be disappointment.
The first round of tickets for the 2018 Games were announced on Thursday, and as expected, some people were left unhappy and angry over the selection process.
The most popular events were the opening ceremony, rugby sevens final and netball final, which alone was oversubscribed by five times.
Other popular sports included cycling – track, cycling – mountain bike, diving, triathlon and swimming.
Those who applied for tickets last month kept a close eye on their email inbox throughout the day, waiting for either the good news or the bad.
For many it was a mixed bag - with about 70 per cent receiving some or all of the tickets they requested.
"[I] got athletics and swimming. Missed out on netball grand final and gymnastics," Katherine Eddings wrote on the ABC Brisbane Facebook page.
"We got three out of the five events we requested tickets for! Feeling very excited," Kerry Lloyd said.
Donna Crane added: "Got mine. Confirmed for the lawn bowls which is what I wanted."
Others aiming for the most popular events missed out altogether.
"Missed out on the opening ceremony and the netball grand final," Angela Marie said.
Over on the Commonwealth Games Facebook page, there was further disappointment, and criticism over the ticketing process.
"I am so disappointed we were unsuccessful in receiving our tickets. I have three little girls who are gymnastics obsessed and I really wanted to give my children and myself the experience of a lifetime," Bianca Jaide Fellows said.
"We live on the Gold Coast and will now have to sit back and watch everyone enjoy the Games.
"Unfair and ridiculous I was sitting on the computer the minute the tickets went live and reserved ours."
Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) chairman Peter Beattie said there was bound to be disappointment with the ticketing process.
"But it's important to remember a ticket request phase was chosen for the GC2018 ticketing program to ensure people had a fair chance of accessing tickets to what will be the biggest sporting event in Australia this decade," he said.
GOLDOC chief executive Mark Peters said there would be another opportunity for those who missed out to make it to the Games with 300,000 tickets to events still available.
Any remaining tickets to competition sessions will go on sale to the general public from 9:00am on July 5.
"Those who took part in the ticket request phase will have access to a pre-sale window, beginning two days earlier," Mr Peters said.
"So there is still great opportunity for everyone to experience the Games and witness this wonderful world-class sporting event.
"There are still tickets available to around half of the 97 medal sessions on offer and remember all the great athletes have to qualify through the preliminaries so those sessions are also worth considering."
GC2018 tickets include free public transport on event day within the TransLink public transport network in south-east Queensland, the Cairns TransLink bus network, and on the Townsville qconnect bus network when a valid event ticket is presented.
Topics: sport, commonwealth-games, commonwealth-games-organising-committee, southport-4215, qld
First posted