Those wishing to see the London Olympics in person will be heartened by the news that an additional 1.3 million tickets for all events including opening and closing ceremonies will be released for sale early in the spring.  This is in addition to the 1 million tickets already allocated to the international market.

Meanwhile those who wish to sell tickets already supplied to them in the first ticket draw can do so at the original cost price on the official London Organising Committee of the Olympic  & Paralympic Games ticketing website between 6 January and 3 February.

Another avenue for enthusiasts to explore for that special ticket is the privately managed Dutch OS Site Tracker website, which for a registration fee of £7.50 will keep you informed of any tickets coming up for resale in Europe.

The Olympics are bad news however for London visitors who wish to enjoy London's vibrant Theatreland.  Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber will be closing three of his seven London theatres for the two weeks and states that, with advance ticket sales at about 10% of their normal level for the Olympics period, he is not alone in taking this action. Predicting that most West End theatres will close for the Olympic Games, he said on BBC 4 radio: "It will be a bloodbath for West End theatre. Nobody's going to go to the theatre at all." Those remaining open are likely to offer considerable seat price reductions. Webber's three hits War Horse, Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera will however remain open.

Outside the period of the Games of the XXX Olympiad, (25 July - 12 August) London will be in jubilantly festive mood, with music, and arts festival galore to back up the The Queen's Diamond Jubilee; (Jubilee Weekend 2 - 5 June) an exciting year to visit London.