London 2012 organisers have confirmed details of how spectators with unwanted Olympic and Paralympic tickets can resell them at face value.People are able to select which tickets they want to resell using their account on the London Organising Committee (Locog) website between 6 January and 3 February.

Locog’s resale system, designed in part to ensure venues are as full as possible, allows people with unwanted tickets to resell them online between 6 January and 3 February.

If sold, the seller will receive the full face value of the tickets, which have not yet been sent out.

People should log onto their ticket account, where they will see an option to choose which tickets they want to resell.

Those who bought tickets directly from overseas Authorised Ticket Resellers (ATR) and want to return them should contact the ATR concerned.

Paralympic tickets went back on sale on Friday 2 December.

The remaining Paralympic tickets together with those for Olympic football are still on sale until 6 February, when seats will start to be allocated. Unsold tickets will go back on sale from the spring.

How do I buy tickets that have been put back on sale?You can log onto the Olympic ticketing website and search for available tickets, which will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Locog does not expect many people to resell tickets and suggests there will be “many more” people who want to buy than who want to sell.

What if I want to sell my ticket to a family member or friend?Once physical tickets become available, holders can sell them for face value to friends and family. It does not matter if their name does not match the booker’s name, which will be on the ticket. Locog does say, however, that would need to be able to contact the booker if they are not attending an event themselves, over the telephone for example, in case of any problems with the ticket on the day of the event.

What if I still have more tickets than I want after the resell period ends?If the tickets remain unsold by 3 February they will be returned to the ticket holder’s account. There will be a further opportunity to resell any unwanted tickets from spring 2012.

Why is it a criminal offence to sell my tickets on the open market?Section 31 of the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act, passed in 2006, makes it an offence to sell tickets without authorisation from the London Organising Committee (LOCOG).

By UK law, tickets for Olympic and Paralympic events can only be sold through licensed outlets and the maximum fine for selling tickets on the black market is £20,000.

Are there any other ways of applying for Olympic or Paralympic tickets?For those with deep pockets, premium corporate hospitality packages are available through Prestige Ticketing Ltd for UK and European Economic Area (EEA) companies and residents. Jet Set Sports is offering premium hospitality packages for all over overseas markets.

Thomas Cook is providing short UK break packages that include event tickets, accommodation and transport.

What about tickets from overseas?As at every other Olympic Games, the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of each participating country gets an allocation of tickets.

Some countries’ authorised resellers are legitimately selling these tickets online.

Some UK residents have been able to buy tickets this way, especially from countries within the European Union.

But Locog has warned UK fans to beware of bogus and unauthorised websites when searching for tickets from overseas sources.

It urged them to use the London 2012 website checker to verify if the seller is genuine.

What were the cost of tickets?

Olympics tickets cost up to £2,012 for the best seats at the opening ceremony and £725 for the men’s 100m final, but 90% of tickets were £100 or less, two-thirds were under £50 and about 25% cost £20 or less.

Children under 16 were eligible to “pay their age” across more than 200 sessions and tickets for over-60s were £16 at the same events.

Full price Paralympic tickets started at £10 and special £5 tickets were available for children under 16 and people over 60.

London 2012 said three-quarters of the tickets were £20 or less and half were £10 or under.

The ceremonies ranged from £20.12 to £500.

A full schedule is available on the London 2012 website.

Will there be any free events to see?Yes, there will be free events such as the marathon and road cycling where you won’t need a ticket apart from for the final section. However, it is likely London 2012 will ticket the Olympic Park to control crowd numbers.

What about test events?There is a series of test events in the year leading up to the Games, some of which will have public access. Four ticketed events took place in 2011: Mountain bike, beach volleyball, basketball and BMX.

Further ticketed test events including gymnastics, track cycling, diving and athletics will take place from January 2012.

The gymnastics tickets went on sale in December while the diving ones will be available from 17 January. Tickets are not yet on sale for that but payment will be first come, first served and must be made on a Visa card.

How many people got Olympic tickets?

More than 3.5m tickets have been sold to more than 850,000 people, according to Locog, which will update its figures after the resell period ends.

Source: BBC News