Britons seeing the Games without a ticket

There have been loads of complaints about tickets at the London games and grumbling that VIPs were squeezing out average fans at the London Olympics. But bargain-hunting Britons are just going ticketless.

Hundreds of thousands of people have cheered on their favourites in person free of charge.

With cyclists, runners, triathletes, race walkers and even swimmers competing in the streets and parks of London, ticketless fans have the chance to attend an Olympic event every day or two.

That has attracted hordes of flag-waving Britons, but also Brazilians, Americans, Germans and Japanese.

Whether they were befuddled by Britain's computerised ticket lottery or are just plain cheap, ticketless fans had two opportunities yesterday to see an Olympic event.

The men's 50-kilometre race walk on The Mall near Buckingham Palace, with the women's 20-kilometre event using the same 2-kilometre circuit later in the afternoon.

The men's marathon is today and a bumper crowd is expected to line the route.