Problems emerged soon after the sales window opened last Monday (May 12) with numerous complaints from potential buyers that they had been unable to connect their calls, or successfully purchase tickets online, leading to suspensions of the process.

Some callers were also charged by their phone providers for their unsuccessful attempts, although it has since been announced they will be refunded.

It was then confirmed on Friday (May 16) that tickets would not go back on sale for five more days, and that they would do so on a phased basis, with free postage and a freephone ticketing hotline, in a bid to reduce congestion. 

But a warning has been provided that there may still be queues due to high demand, with a patient approach advised. 

The first batch, scheduled to be released at 10am on Wednesday, will be for the three team sports of hockey, netball and rugby sevens, as well as for both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

From Thursday (May 22) at 10am, tickets for athletics, badminton, squash and table tennis will go on sale, along with any unsold tickets from the previous day, with all other remaining tickets becoming available at the same time the following day.

These will consist tickets for weightlifting, powerlifting, lawn bowls, rhythmic gymnastics, shooting, boxing, judo and wrestling.

There are currently no tickets available for diving, swimming, artistic gymnastics, triathlon and either track or mountain biking cycling events.

Tickets for New Zealand's defence of the netball title they won at Delhi 2010 will be among the first group to go on sale on Wednesday ©Getty Images



The problems with sales last week were a major blow for Official Ticketing Agency Ticketmaster, particularly after it emerged the England 2015 Rugby World Cup ticket sales, due to begin last Friday and also overseen by the company, have also been delayed.

Ticketmaster also experienced problems when overseeing the ticket-selling process for London 2012, but remain confident the situation will be rectified this time around.

"We were deeply disappointed by, and would like to apologise again for, the challenges experienced by many customers last week, during the launch of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games general ticket sale," said Ticketmaster UK chairman Chris Edmonds.  

"We have been working tirelessly to ensure that we have checked, tested and tested again every component of the technical infrastructure supporting the ticketing website, and we are confident that all customers will have a much improved customer experience this time around.

"We are still expecting to witness very high levels of demand on the site on each day this week, so would ask all customers to be patient, if they find themselves queuing.

"Our advice to everyone would be to refrain from refreshing their screens or opening multiple browsers.

David Grevemburg, chief executive of Glasgow 2014, added his support as he insisted the goal remains "ensuring everyone who wants to be part of one of the world's great sporting parties can secure tickets to do so".

But he admitted: "Given the enthusiastic demand we've experienced so far and even with a phased approach helping to manage that demand, it's still likely the website and phonelines will be busy at peak times and customers may need to queue, so in advance we thank everyone for their patience," 

"There are still thousands of terrific opportunities to join in, be part of the live ceremonies experience and  see great Commonwealth athletes compete in Glasgow and Scotland across 14 different sports and 11 days.

"From Wednesday we will be in the business of ensuring remaining tickets are sold and that thousands more people can begin to look forward to experiencing the excitement of the Games."

Prices start at £15 ($25/€18) for adults and £7.50 ($13/€9) for under 16s and over 60s, with around 50,000 tickets still available.

They can be purchased by clicking here, or calling 0844 826 2014. 

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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