Olympic chiefs set to scrap cheap tickets turn

London Olympic organisers could renege on promises to offer tickets for just £15.

The organising committee is considering a more expensive starting price in a bid to increase revenue - a decision which will disappoint many Londoners who will be priced out.

A pledge to charge £15 a seat, with more than half the nine million places selling for less than £30, was made by committee chairman Sebastian Coe when the capital's bid for the Games was launched in 2004.

But three years before the Games, Paul Deighton, the chief executive of the London Organising Committee, admitted it may not be possible to honour that commitment. He said he hoped cheap tickets would still be available but could not say how many or for what price.

"The principle still applies that a very significant chunk of our tickets will be highly affordable so we can get families here," he said.