Around 2,000 New Zealanders have bought 8,000 event tickets for Glasgow 2014 inside the first two weeks of being on sale, which equates to about 80 per cent of the country's total ticket allocation for the Games.

While the figure of 800 per cent appears a huge leap, that is tempered by the fact that only 170 Kiwis attended the Commonwealth Games in Delhi four years ago.

HOT Events, who recently entered into a joint venture with the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) and House of Travel, has exclusive rights to resell tickets to the Games and the company's managing director, David Williams says that New Zealanders are benefitting from the "well-priced" Games tickets - the lowest being $NZD40 (£20/$34/€25) - and that accommodation in Glasgow is considered to be reasonably priced.

"With their events tickets secured, many Kiwi supporters are choosing to travel in style and extend the trip to other parts of Europe, spending up to $NZD20,000 (£10,260/$17,000/€12,270) per person for a more premium end-to-end experience with business class flights and five-star accommodation included.

"Unlike the accommodation in other countries hosting Olympic and Commonwealth Games, Scotland has been strategic in keeping accommodation prices to a minimum."

The highest demand for tickets have been for cycling, swimming, netball, hockey and athletics events with a shortfall if 1,200 tickets been reported for events likely to be the biggest medal prospects for New Zealand.

Williams added that more tickets are expected to be made available to Kiwi supporters in the next two weeks, and that tickets to events such as netball and the Closing Ceremony can still be purchased from New Zealand's pool of tickets.

New Zealand supporters will be keen to get a ticket for the netball finals where they will hope to see their compatriots win a third successive Commonwealth Games gold ©Getty Images



Glasgow 2014 organisers made an extra 4,000 tickets available for the finals of the netball competition, which sold out in three hours, after it moved the matches to the SSE Hydro following huge demand.

New Zealand will be going for a third Commonwealth Games netball title in-a-row after taking the gold medal at Melbourne 2006 and Delhi 2010, while the Kiwi's rugby sevens side will be aiming for a fifth consecutive gold medal in the rugby sevens competition.

"We're delighted so many New Zealanders are able to support our team in Glasgow," said NZOC chief executive Kereyn Smith.

"It will be an outstanding event and having Kiwi fans there will make it even more special for our athletes as they make us proud."

A total of around one million tickets were made available for the 11 days of competition at this year's Commonwealth Games, which run from July 23 to August 3.

Organisers say that more than 90 per cent of tickets have been sold while there are a limited number of tickets still available for badminton, boxing, lawn bowls, rugby sevens, squash, weightlifting and Para-sport powerlifting, and there is also limited availability for both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

Tickets can be purchased online via the Glasgow 2014 Ticketing website or by contacting the ticket hotline on 0844 826 2014.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related Stories
February 2014: Extra Glasgow 2014 netball tickets sell out in three hours
February 2014: Glasgow 2014 to release additional 4,000 tickets for netball finals
December 2013: Glasgow 2014 enlists Santa Claus to help shift remaining tickets
November 2013: Over 90 per cent of public tickets sold for Glasgow 2014
October 2013: Glasgow 2014 tickets to go on general public sale next week