School children are joined by (from L to R) Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, former gymnast Nadia Comaneci, former track and field athlete Carl Lewis and Swimmer Rebecca Adlington as they attend a photocall to officially launch the sale of tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Games in London, March 15, 2011.[Photo/Xinhua]

LONDON - Tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Games are on sale around the world from Tuesday. People in the UK and within the EU can apply for 6.6 million tickets until April 26 2011.

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UK and EU residents can apply via www.tickets.london2012.com at any time during the 42-day application period. It is not a first come, first served system and there is no advantage to applying earlier in the process.

From 15 March, tickets for accommodation packages will also go on sale in the UK through Thomas Cook branches and on their website www.thomascooklondon2012.com.

"This starts the journey for those who have been dreaming of getting hold of an Olympic ticket since the day we won the bid in 2005 - these really are the greatest tickets on earth.said Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Olympics Organizing Committee (LOCOG).

He believed "a ballot is the fairest way of allocating tickets" if any sessions are oversubscribed.

Tickets for many sports start at 20 pounds ($32), while the top seats for the men's 100-meter final will go for 750 pounds ($1,200).

Besides, up to one million tickets are available for sports fans outside the UK via National Olympic Committees and their Authorised Ticket Resellers.