Along with the much-publicised rows about the fairness of the Olympic lottery, there have been numerous stories about public sector bodies buying tickets for the 2012 Games. Last month we asked our supporters to get in touch with their local councils to see whether they had bought tickets on the taxpayers' tab. We've had a great response so far, and you can see the results here:
Download the results (PDF) here
It's not right for public sector bodies to purchase tickets with taxpayers' cash when they should be looking to make necessary savings. MPs are already getting more time off to watch the Games, and ordinary families shouldn't be forking out for staff at their local authority to go and watch beach volleyball or basketball.
There are some positive responses from councils too. Southwark council have found a private sponsor to cover the cost of their tickets, for example. The data we have put together so far includes a Notes column, so do give this a look for more details.
Since we sent out this call to action, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have released details of Government-issue tickets. This includes some details of tickets allocated to councils who will be hosting some events, like Coventry and Manchester.