By Tom Degun at the Main Press Centre on the Olympic Park in London

Troops near_stadium_July_22July 21 - British Olympic Association (BOA) chairman Colin Moynihan has called for any spare tickets for the London 2012 Olympics to be given to the military personnel who have been drafted in at late notice to protect the Games.


The Government deployed around 3,500 military personnel to fill the security void for London 2012 after contractor G4S revealed last week it could not provide the required numbers of guards for the Olympics and Paralympics.

The move, which came following orders from Home Secretary Theresa May, meant that the majority of the troops had to cancel their leave following active service in Afghanistan and Iraq, for which Moynihan feels they should be rewarded.

"I'm not responsible for tickets but if anyone deserves to fill any empty seats it's those forces in their down time," he said at a press conference here.

"I have gone out of my way on behalf of the BOA and the team to go and talk to them because I really what to thank them.

"I know the sacrifices many of them have made personally to be here to support the team and the stress they are under in delivering their day jobs.

"I want to reflect that every single member of the British team is 100 per cent grateful to them for giving up their time at short notice to make sure we have a safe and secure Games.

Soldiers outside_Olympic_Stadium_July_22Two soldiers walk past the Olympic Stadium on the Olympic Park

"These guys are so into sport and are really supporting the team, and just today some soldiers down from Chelmsford were saying, 'When we do get down time can we go out there and see the events?'

"If there are any spare tickets it makes eminent sense for the armed forces to have them and would be a great way to say thank you to them."

Following the comments of the BOA chairman, London 2012 has confirmed they are looking into allocating extra tickets for the Games to the military.

"We are hugely grateful to the troops for their support, and they are doing a great job," said a London 2012 spokesperson.

"We have already given 10,000 tickets to the troops through our ticketshare programme and we are in the process of allocating and distributing extra tickets to troops now they are providing additional support to the Games."

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