Rush starts now for Euro 2008 tickets

By Mark Ledsom

SALZBURG, Austria, March 16 (Reuters) - Organisers of the 2008 European championship have reported a huge demand for tickets, with initial applications far outstripping the number of seats available.

About a third of the 1,050,000 tickets are up for grabs via the official website (www.euro2008.com), but tournament officials said on Friday they had already received around 2.5 million applications. Most of the tickets will be distributed using a lottery system once the window for applications closes on March 31.

A further 38% of tickets will be made available to competing countries via their national associations following the end of the qualifying competition.

Co-hosts Austria and Switzerland are the only countries so far guaranteed a place at the tournament, but applications have come in from a total of 128 countries including Australia, China, El Salvador and Uganda.

The tournament is set to take place from June 7-29, 2008, with matches being played in Geneva, Bern, Basel, Zurich, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Klagenfurt and Vienna.