January 5 , 2010

Olympic-sized first for online ticket sales
Fan-to-fan marketplace opens on the web

Ticket holders in Canada who want to sell their tickets for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will now be able to post them for sale to winter sport fans around the world at www.vancouver2010.com, or donate them to community groups in Metro Vancouver and the Sea to Sky region.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) released details today on the fan-to-fan marketplace reselling initiative and other exciting ticketing options for Games' fans, including: ticket donations through the Celebrate 2010 program, auctions for some great seats at high-demand events, and single event luxury suites at Canada Hockey Place for select ice hockey sessions.

The fan-to-fan marketplace - which is now live - enables ticket holders to simply sign into their existing Vancouver 2010 ticketing account and click the "sell my tickets" option for the seats they want to sell. Ticket holders can set their selling price and buyers can browse for available tickets in the same location as other tickets sold at www.vancouver2010.com. Not only does this system help ensure there will be full venues at Games times, it also guarantees all tickets sold through this official channel are valid.

This marks the first time both Canadian and international clients can purchase tickets at www.vancouver2010.com - a transaction they can make knowing tickets are valid and legitimate because the website is operated by the Organizing Committee in partnership with tickets.com, the official ticketing services supplier for the 2010 Winter Games. It is also the first time customers can donate their tickets to local community groups.

"We know that well over 90 per cent of Canadian ticket account holders plan to use all their tickets for the Games but a secondary market will exist where people will want to buy, sell and donate tickets," explained Caley Denton, VANOC's vice president, ticketing and consumer marketing. "The fan-to-fan marketplace will be the safest and most secure way for Games' fans in Canada and worldwide to purchase Vancouver 2010 tickets from fellow fans in Canada as we guarantee the tickets purchased through our fan-to-fan marketplace have valid bar codes and are legitimate.