RAF MILDENHALL, England — There’s good news on multiple fronts for U.S. military personnel in Europe interested in personally experiencing the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
First, meteorologists are cautiously predicting that the jet stream that’s caused an abundance of rain this summer in England could recede to leave behind a streak of sunny weather, at least for the start of the games.
And contrary to popular belief, there still may be tickets available for sporting events and opening and closing ceremonies.
News outlets reported earlier in the week that Olympics organizers expected about 400,000 additional tickets would become available. for after Olympic committees from other nations failed to sell all their allotted tickets.
And there are some events for which no tickets are needed. The men’s and women’s marathon and road-cycling events have areas where the public can view the action. Maps of routes can be found at the Games’ official website: www.london2012.com.
“Tickets will continue to be released on an almost daily basis from now until the Games,” according to a post on the site.
New tickets also are being released in some venues thanks to late reconfigurations, according to a London 2012 spokeswoman, who declined to be identified.
“There are still some great tickets out there,” she said.
Tickets, which are sold based on seating location at the venue, start as low as 20 pounds and are going as high as 2,012 pounds for the best available seats at the opening ceremonies. according to a brief survey of the site.
While tickets to some events — such as swimming, judo, archery and equestrian jumping — are completely sold out, it is still possible to see athletes in track and field, basketball, soccer, table tennis, beach volleyball, weightlifting, taekwondo, tennis and diving, according to the official web site, which organizers say is the best place to look for tickets.
As of Friday afternoon, it was still possible to find tickets to see and support two active-duty U.S. servicemen taking part in fencing and boxing. The U.S. Air Force’s Seth Kelsey parries his way in the men’s epee event and Marine Jamel Herring takes his shots in the 64-kilogram light-welter weight division.
A few tips to keep in mind:
•Traveling around London is expected to be hectic, and the official London 2012 website has travel recommendations and directions for each Olympic venue.
•Security at each venue will be similar in style to airport security and there are limitations on the personal items each person will be allowed to carry inside.
•Be careful of the many websites offering tickets to the Olympics. The safest way to buy online is to use an authorized ticket distributor found through the London 2012 website.
•Always be prepared for rain. After all, it is England.
