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Tickets for PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics are on sale – here's everything you need to know

See the likes of Alpine skier Dave Ryding in action in South Korea
See the likes of Alpine skier Dave Ryding in action in South Korea

The 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang are just seven months away, kicking off on February 9 2018, and tickets are now on sale for members of the public who fancy the opportunity to visit South Korea and cheer on Great Britain’s Olympic hopefuls.

The two-week sporting spectacular will host 102 events across 15 different winter sports, including four new disciplines, big air snowboarding, which replaces parallel slalom, mixed doubles curling, mass start speed skating and mixed team alpine skiing.

British Ski and Snowboard, the organisation that looks after Team GB’s skiers and snowboarders, is hoping for its most successful Games yet, with the likes of Alpine skier Dave Ryding, freestyle snowboarder Katie Ormerod and freestyle skier Izzy Atkins all coming out of career-changing seasons in 2016/17. Following the announcement of an expert team of new coaches by British Ski and Snowboard it was recently revealled that new funding will be available from UK Sport and the National Lottery for a group of Olympic hopefuls including Ryding.

Tickets for residents of the host country went on sale in February with organisers predicting 70 per cent of the crowd will be local and 30 per cent visitors from overseas.

Could North Korea co-host the 2018 Winter Olympics?
Could North Korea co-host the 2018 Winter Olympics?

Britis wanting to visit will need to be dedicated to the Olympic cause as the journey to the South Koeran captial Seoul is an 11 hour flight away. The rewards are not just getting to watch the Games but the bragging rights of visiting a country not on the international radar for most skiers and snowboarders.

How do I apply for tickets?

The Team GB Live website is the authorised ticket reseller for the PyeongChang Games for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, meaning it is the only source of official tickets. Once you’ve chosen the events you’d like to watch, using the calendar and ticket selecting tool on the website, you can request the type of ticket you want for each event through a personal account.

Demand for certain sessions will be high and for that reason all tickets requested are subject to confirmation based on availability and allocation criteria. Once you have submitted a ticket request it cannot be amended, but you can make further requests up until just before the Games next February.

Ski jumping venue - Credit: Ed Jones
The ski jumping stadium Credit: Ed Jones

How are tickets allocated?

Everyone is eligible for tickets to the Games, the process works on a first-come-first-serve basis. Members of the official Team GB ‘Nearest and Dearest’ programme, who are travelling to South Korea to support friends or family, are able to add this information to their account and will receive priority to the events in which their contact is competing.

Tickets for spectators who require wheelchair access or have other accessibility requirements are available on request from the Team GB Live team on 020 8939 1591 or team@teamgb-live.com.

Once the ticket allocation process is complete hopeful ticket holders will be contacted by email and a status will be added to each individual ticket requested. Here’s what each status means:

  • Confirmed – We are able to supply the tickets you have requested

  • Confirmed Upgrade / or Downgrade – We are able to offer tickets for the session you have requested but in an alternative price category

  • Application – We are requesting additional tickets from PyeongChang Organising Committee in order to try and fulfil your request outside of stock we currently hold

  • Waitlist – We are unable to confirm your request at this stage but may secure tickets to do so in the run up to the Games. You can opt to leave the waitlist at any stage

  • Unavailable – We are unable to fulfil your request
     

Once tickets are confirmed payment will be required to secure them.

How much do they cost?

It depends on what you want to see. Prices for individual events start at £17.44 to watch the skeleton heats or cross country skiing and range to £1,162.24 for premium tickets to the opening ceremony. Ticket prices were originally set in Korean Won but Team GB Live has converted this to sterling for UK sale.

If you’d like to watch Dave Ryding lay his claim for the Olympic title in the men’s slalom category on February 22, then tickets start at £52.30. Tickets for the women's slopestyle final on February 12, which which will hopefully see the likes of GB’s Katie Ormerod and Aimee Fuller compete, cost from £69.73.

Packages are available through the Team GB Live website, which include official tickets, flights, transfers, accommodation and an official Adidas merchandise pack.

Mascots - Credit: KIM HONG-JI
Excitement is growing ahead of next year's Winter Olympics Credit: KIM HONG-JI

It’s possible to design a bespoke package that includes all the events you want to watch and caters for your choice of accommodation (ranging from Korean style beds on a floor to deluxe) to your length of stay. This ultimately takes the hassle out of booking all the elements independently and navigating round the multiple Olympic venues. While all packages are designed for each indivudal and can include as many different events as possible as well as chance to experience Korean culture in the capital Soeul, an example pre-designed six-night package to watch the opening ceremony and skating events, costs from £6,999, including flights from London, tranfers, accommodation at each venue, tickets for the events and overnight stay in the capital.

How do I get there?

The ticket packages booked through Team GB’s website include travel, but if booking independently, PyeongChang is 180km from the capital Seoul. Flights from London take 11 hours and are available with the likes of British Airways and Korean Air. A  new rail link taking an hour between the capital and PyeongChang, should be completed in time for the Olympics.

When are the key skiing and snowboarding events?

For the full schedule check out Team GB Live, but here’s a round-up of the top skiing and snowboarding events.

PyeongChang 2018 | Top ski and snowboard events
PyeongChang 2018 | Top ski and snowboard events

When do the Winter Paralympics start?

The action continues for another two weeks from March 9 till March 18 for the Winter Paralympics, which will see more than 670 of the world’s finest Paralympic Winter athletes compete in 80 events across six different sporting disciplines. Ticket for the event went on sale, with 200 days to go, in late August.

Is the ticket system the same?

Yes, the tickets for the Paralympics are also allocated on a first-come first-serve basis, but are sold by a separate organisation to the main Winter Olympics. There’s a total of 280,000 tickets on sale via the event’s website, with prices currently in South Korean won. Tickets for the para alpine skiing will be some of the most popular and start at KRW 60,000 (£42). The event will see Team GB’s reigning Olympic champion Kelly Gallagher returning the the Games with her guide Gary Smith and 18-year-old Millie Knight, who took gold at the World Para Alpine Skiing Championships last season, also competing with her guide Brett Wild.