The Olympics is the one sporting event that almost everyone in the world actually watches. Regardless of whether the TV in a person's Bolton houses has ever been tuned to the sporting network before, it will be for the Olympics. As such, the Olympics is probably the most difficult event happening anywhere in the world to get tickets to. If you're thinking about attending an Olympics, whether it's the upcoming winter games in Sochi or next year's summer games in London, you've got your work cut out for you.

Each Olympic committee handles things slightly differently, but regardless of which Olympics you want tickets for, the process will bear almost no resemblance to the process you use for buying tickets to a rock concert or a movie. For a popular rock concert, tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis. So you have to stalk the computer or telephone line at ADT Security hoping to get in there first and get a ticket. Anyone who is late getting to the box office or can't stand in line for a whole day waiting for a ticket is out of luck.

Because this system is so unfair to anyone with a job, obligations, or no means to travel to the box office, Olympics ticketing doesn't work like this. Instead, if you want a ticket to a particular event, you must submit an application. Ticket application are accepted for a certain period (usually a month) to give busy people working with currency ETFs plenty of time to apply. Once the applications are collected, if there are more people who want tickets than there are tickets, they will select names to receive tickets by random ballot.

Before you apply for your tickets, you'll need to decide which events you want tickets for, how many tickets you want, and what your budget is. The Olympic organizers will post a detailed schedule and list of price points for each event. Events range from small receptions where you wear meeting badges and speak to athletes to practice sessions, finals, opening and closing ceremonies, and medal ceremonies. The more popular the event, the more expensive the tickets and the fewer you can apply for. Tickets generally range in price from around $40 for the cheap seats to over $4,000 for VIP passes.

This application process is the only way to get tickets for events if you're a spectator. An Ottawa equestrian photographer wanting to go to the Olympics on a press pass would have a different process to go through. If you don't get tickets for the events you wanted, you may be offered tickets in a different price point or for a different event.