It was the first London-based event of the Games. Before the men’s round kicked off at 9am, dozens of people queued outside the cricket ground in the belief that the pre-competition event, which had been described by Locog as “non-ticketed”, was open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis. Some had even bought what they thought were genuine tickets issued by a fraudulent website posing as an official Olympics vendor. In the hours that followed, fans continued to come in dribs and drabs. But stewards at the gates told them they were not allowed in as “non-ticketed” actually meant the event was not open to the public, causing frustration and annoyance among those waiting outside.
“I was really excited to be going to the archery and I’m quite disappointed we can’t go in,” said 11-year-old Alba Wiles, a young archer who had come up for the day from Reading with her family in order to see the ranking round. Her father Marc Wiles, 47, said he was “pretty sure” that when he had first looked at the ticketing information for the Games, it had been listed as “free event”. “I feel really disappointed. And I feel really out of pocket,” he said, having paid £50 for the family to travel. “I’d like to get my money back.”
A statement for Locog said it had made it “very clear” that the ranking rounds were not a free event, like the road bike races or marathon, and had historically always been held behind closed-doors. “This is a ranking round and there is no spectator access at all,” it added.
But many felt that marketing it as “non-ticketed” had left room for confusion. Sixty-year-old Robin Cade, who got up at 4am in order to make the journey from Wells in Somerset, said: “We thought we’d be able to come in. It said it was unticketed.” His wife, Bar, pointed out: “It didn’t say it was by invitation only.”
Foreign tourists in London for the Games were also caught out by what they said was a lack of clarity. Amateur archers Ursula Weidner, 48, and Grit Descher, 46, had come all the way from Stuttgart to support the German team and see US star Brady Ellison and, although they have tickets for the main competitions later in the Games, they were “very disappointed” not to be able to go to the ranking round. “Why was it on the website … only for us to come and not be able to get in?” said Weidner.
The experience of being turned away had jarred rather with the Olympic spirit, said a group of Canadians hoping to get their Games off to a good start. “We came a long way,” said Norm Sabapathy, from Toronto. “We’re interested in the spirit of the Games. We appreciate the atmosphere and the environment. It would just be nicer to get closer to it.” His friend Chris Stewart, also from Toronto, said he was “surprised” not to be let in. “In Toronto or Canada, on the trial runs, they would have let us in,” he said, adding: “This is a fringe sport … and this would be a perfect chance for them to let someone in for free and turn them on to the sport.”
Locog said “some people” had been turned away with fake tickets purchased from a fraudulent website, liveolympictickets.com, which has now been shut down. A statement said: “Tickets have not been advertised or sold by Locog for the Archery ranking event, which starts today at Lords cricket ground. We have always made it clear that the preliminary rounds are not open for spectators. There are a number of unofficial websites claiming to sell tickets; we therefore advise people to be extremely cautious and vigilant when attempting to buy tickets and only purchase from an official source – if in doubt there is a url checker on our website which will identify official sources.”