Final days for Canadians to buy Phase 2 Olympic tickets

Canadians who have not yet bought their tickets for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games - or who want to buy additional tickets - have just days left to do so during Phase 2 of Olympic ticket sales.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) will close its second phase of Olympic ticket sales at 7:00 pm PT (Pacific Time) on Friday, July 31. The seat allocation process will then commence for those who have purchased tickets.

Select tickets for two much-loved Canadian sports - ice hockey and curling - as well as tickets to the nightly Victory Ceremonies celebrating the day's achievements and featuring world-class live entertainment, are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

With the release of the World Curling Federation's official curling tournament draw, avid curling fans will be able to see when their favourite teams will be in action, and purchase their tickets accordingly. The Competition Schedule has also been updated to reflect the recently released curling information - Team Canada will appear in 18 of 24 scheduled preliminary curling sessions.

Although Olympic and Paralympic ticket sales will not be open after July 31, customers with an existing account at www.vancouver2010.com will still be able to view their information and summary of ticket purchases. To date, Phase 2 Olympic ticket sales have been highly successful, with more than 155,000 sold since the start of sales on June 6.

A third and final phase of Olympic ticket sales will be available to the public this fall to sell any remaining inventory. Paralympic tickets will also go back on sale near this time. A VANOC ticket re-sale site to facilitate the sale and purchase of legitimate tickets will be launched shortly after Phase 3 of Olympic ticket sales.

With fewer than 200 days until the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games start, the demand for Olympic tickets remains high. Canadians are reminded that the only official sources to purchase tickets to the Games are www.vancouver2010.com and official 2010 Winter Games hospitality partners Jet Set Sports and CoSport. VANOC cannot ensure customers that tickets purchased through any other source are legitimate or will be accepted for entry at Games venues.