Supply will trump demand for ticket ballot purchase for the British & Irish Lions eight-match rugby extravaganza in South Africa in 2021.
But don’t be stressed about not getting in your request on time. You have from today, Wednesday, 10:30am (SA time) on 2 September until Wednesday, 23:59pm (SA time) on 16 September.
It is the biggest rugby show of the year and one of the greatest sporting occasions of 2021.
Already, 155,000 have visited South Africa’s official online site and 53,000 have registered for ticket purchase interest.
It is why this is not a one day purchasing exercise but a two-week event in preparation for the biggest global rugby show in 2021.
If you register between 2 September and 16 September, you have an equal chance of a ticket purchase.
Entering the ballot, however, does not entitle you to or guarantee you a ticket.
This is not a first come, first serve system.
The ticket ballot, as acknowledged for all elite global sporting events, is the fairest allocation of tickets, so don’t be concerned if you haven’t put in your request within the first hour. You have until 23:59pm (SA time) on 16 September.
There are eight matches to apply for and you can request a maximum of eight tickets per match. Again, this is not guarantee you will get what you requested.
You will know by the end of September whether your ticket request has been successful.
Please be cautioned that if you are a South African resident or a resident outside the United Kingdom and Europe, the only place to request tickets to any of the eight tour matches is through the ballot on the official site of https://tickets.lionstour2021.co.za/
If you are a South African resident in South Africa, no tickets purchased outside the official South African online site will be recognised. This also applies to residents in the United Kingdom and Europe, who have to apply on the official Lions Tour site www.lionsrugby.com
Applicants in South Africa will have to use the ballot to apply for tickets to their preferred match, ticket category and quantity.
After the ticket ballot application phase has been completed, the draw will take place by a computerised selection process and applicants will be notified of the outcome of the ballot.
*Please be aware that when entering the ballot from 1 September to 16 September, due to the anticipated high demand, you may be placed in a queue before entering the ticket platform. This will show up as Queuelt. Please appreciate that 200 visitors will be accommodated every one minute. You don’t lose out if you are in the Queuelt, as you have until 16 September to apply for tickets.
The way the Queuelt system works, is that as soon as it is your turn you will automatically be allowed in to apply for tickets.
It is recommended entering your email address at the bottom of the page to be notified when it is your turn in the queue.
Clicking on the link in the email will bring you back to your real-time place in the queue.
You must be logged in within 30 minutes once it is your turn, otherwise you will have to rejoin the back of the queue.
Do not close your browser while waiting, as you may lose your place in the queue.
The British & Lions, who tour South Africa every 12 years, will play their first match against the Stormers at the Cape Town Stadium on 3 July 2021 and the eighth and final match is the third Test against the Springboks on 7 August at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg.
The Lions last visited South Africa in 2009.
The world champion Springboks won the three-Test series 2-1.
The Lions and Springboks, who first played each other in 1891, have contested 46 matches. The Springboks have won 23, the Lions 17 and six have been drawn.
The Vodacom Bulls were the last South African provincial team to beat the Lions on the 1997 tour.
