‘Olympic tickets only available with Visa card’
July 2, 2010 at 2:40 pm
If you are a UK resident planning on attending the 2012 Olympic Games you had better make sure you have a Visa debit or credit card.
Visa are sponsors of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and part of the deal struck with the organisers is that no other card will be accepted. In addition, Visa will be the only type of card accepted at shops and cash machines at the Games.
The consumer champions Which? have said that it is outrageous for some sports fans to be discriminated against in this way and the Office of Fair Trade is looking into the matter along with the European Commission. A spokesperson for the London Olympics has, however, said that this has been the norm since the Seoul Olympics in 1988.
According to a spokesman for Visa, it is the exclusivity of sponsorship deals that makes the whole concept work, enabling the Olympic committee to raise the necessary funds. He also pointed out that fans who do not have a Visa card will be able to buy a pre-paid card for the Games.
Fans from abroad will be able to use other cards to buy tickets if they purchase them from their own Olympic Committees rather than from the London 2012 website.
A similar situation was threatened in Germany for the 2006 World Cup with MasterCard sponsoring the event. However, FIFA were forced to back down and accept other cards after intervention by the EU.
Last autumn Visa signed a deal to continue sponsoring the Olympic and Paralympic Games up until 2020, along with Coca Cola and Omega. It is predicted that Visa will provide up to $200 million in cash and services between now and 2020.
