An event ballot is a random draw: you apply during a fixed window, the organiser picks winners by chance once it closes, and applying early gives you no advantage. Wimbledon, the London Marathon, the grandstands at Trooping the Colour and the Last Night of the Proms all use one, each with its own rules about who may enter, when you pay and whether the ticket can be passed on.
The word confuses visitors because London also has events that sell out in minutes without any draw. The Chelsea Flower Show and the Ceremony of the Keys are timed releases, first come, first served, and people miss them because they wait for a ballot that never opens. This page explains the mechanism once, so that the event pages on this site can get on with the event. The detail for each one is on its own page: Wimbledon tickets and the Queue, for example, or Trooping the Colour.
Ballot or not: the big London events
- Ballot
- Wimbledon Public Ballot; London Marathon; King's Birthday Parade grandstands; Last Night of the Proms; World Darts Championship (from 2026/27); England internationals at Lord's and The Oval; 10 Downing Street at Open House
- Timed release, first come
- Chelsea Flower Show; Ceremony of the Keys; Open House ticketed listings; Proms general booking
- Open sale
- The two Trooping rehearsals (Major General's and Colonel's Reviews)
- Nothing to book
- State Opening of Parliament; watching Trooping or the Marathon from the street
- Checked
- November 2026, on each organiser's own site
What makes something a ballot
Three things define a real ballot. There is an application window with a published closing time. Every valid application made inside the window has the same chance, so applying in the first minute and the last are equal; Alexandra Palace's rules for the darts ballot say this in so many words. And the draw happens after the window closes, with results sent out later, often weeks later.
A timed release is the opposite. Tickets go on sale at a stated hour and the fastest buyers get them. Speed matters, preparation matters, and a waiting room on the website is the only "draw". If you treat a timed release like a ballot you lose by being calm; if you treat a ballot like a timed release you gain nothing by panicking.
Some events mix the two. The Last Night of the Proms has two ballots and then a general sale of whatever is left. Lord's and The Oval run a ballot, then give winners a priority window in which they buy first come, first served. Winning those ballots gets you into the shop early, not a seat.
The rules most ballots share
- One application per person or household. Wimbledon accepts only one application per household, per email address and per myWimbledon account.
- You cannot choose much. At Wimbledon the day, court and seat are chosen by an automated process. At the darts you may rank sessions or tick "any session". At the King's Birthday Parade you apply for a number of seats, up to four.
- No transfers. London Marathon entries cannot be transferred to someone else. Wimbledon says ballot tickets must not be sold or transferred, and that any advertised for sale will be void.
- An account first. Almost every ballot is online and tied to an account with the organiser. Create it well before the window opens, not in the last hour.
- No editing. The darts rules say applications cannot be edited or cancelled once submitted. Assume the same elsewhere and check your details before you press the button.
A ballot ticket offered for sale on a resale site is usually a ticket that will not get you in. Wimbledon cancels ballot tickets advertised for sale, and the Chelsea Flower Show accepts only tickets bought through its official ticket agent and that agent's own resale platform. Buy returns only through the route the organiser names. Our guide to tourist scams in London covers the fake-ticket pattern.
Where they differ: money, residence and timing
The differences are the ones that trip people up, because a rule learned at one event is applied wrongly at another.
| Event | Window (pattern) | Overseas applicants | When you pay | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wimbledon Public Ballot | Many months before the Championships; the 2027 ballot had closed by September 2026 | Check the ballot terms | Check the ballot terms | Offer of a day and court, not of your choice |
| London Marathon | Opens around one year's race and closes soon after (the 2027 ballot closed on 1 May 2026) | Yes, at a higher international entry fee (£275 for 2027) | On success, or upfront as a donation that reduces the fee and adds a second draw | By early July; places must be confirmed by a deadline |
| King's Birthday Parade (Trooping) | Published on the official ticket site in the months before the June parade; no fixed opening date | Not restricted on the Household Division's page | Check the ticket site | Before the June parade |
| Last Night of the Proms | Open Ballot from general booking in May to early July; Five-Concert Ballot closes in early June | No residence rule published | Five-Concert Ballot: only if you then choose to buy | Tickets issued in early September |
| World Darts Championship | Closed in September in 2026, for the December-January event | No residence rule published | Card taken at application, charged automatically only if successful | In September |
Two of those columns deserve a sentence each. Paying: at the darts your card is charged automatically if you win, so do not enter for six seats you could not afford, while the Proms Five-Concert Ballot lets a winner decline. The Marathon's donation option: London Marathon Events offers to take your entry fee upfront as a donation; if you win, your fee drops from £79.99 to £49.99 and if you lose the first draw you go into a second one. If you lose both, the money stays donated. Our guide to London's other mass runs compares that with the half marathons, which work differently again.
The events people think are ballots, and are not
The Chelsea Flower Show sells tickets on a published date, months ahead, with Royal Horticultural Society members first and the public after; popular sessions go fast and there is no waiting list. Our Chelsea Flower Show guide has the ticket rules.
The Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London releases each month's tickets at 13:00 on the first working day of the month before, and the dates go within minutes. Anyone waiting to "enter" is too late by the time they realise there is nothing to enter; our page on the Ceremony of the Keys explains the cycle.
The Trooping rehearsals are sold directly, not drawn, and are much easier to get than the parade itself; see our page on the rehearsals and Beating Retreat. Open House ran a ballot in 2026 for exactly one building, 10 Downing Street, and is otherwise first come, as our Open House Festival page shows. And the State Opening of Parliament has no ticket at all.
Getting the application right
- Find the official page and sign up for news. Wimbledon announces its ballot to myWimbledon account holders who opt in to ticket news. Most organisers have an equivalent mailing list.
- Note the closing time in UK time. Windows close at a stated hour, often midnight or midday, British Summer Time in summer. A visitor in another time zone who reads "Thursday" can miss it by a day.
- Read what you are applying for. A number of seats, a ranked list of sessions, a race place, or a seat category. Getting this wrong is not usually fixable.
- Use the name and address you will travel with. Where tickets are named or non-transferable, the applicant is the person the organiser expects to see.
- Watch your junk folder. London Marathon Events tells applicants to check it, and an offer that must be confirmed by a deadline can lapse unread.
A ballot that closes six months ahead does not fit the way most people plan a holiday, which is why our list of what to book before you go treats ballot events separately.
When you lose: the three routes still open
Most people lose. The odds are not published for most of these draws, but every one of them exists because demand is several times the supply. There are still three routes worth knowing.
Official returns and resale. Unsuccessful Wimbledon applicants get access to a returns shop in the run-up to the Championships. The darts has an official fan-to-fan platform. Returns appear when other people's plans fall apart, which is mostly in the last two weeks.
The queue, or the street. Wimbledon's Queue sells a share of tickets on the day to people who turn up, and it is the main route in for most visitors. Trooping the Colour and the Marathon can both be watched free from the pavement; our guide to watching the London Marathon says where to stand.
The rehearsal or the smaller sibling. The Trooping reviews cost a fraction of the parade ticket and are sold, not drawn. A Proms ticket for any other night of the season is easy to get. For running, charity places and other events remain. For tennis, the grass-court week at Queen's Club comes before Wimbledon.
Losing the Marathon ballot is not the end of a London Marathon trip. Watching is free, needs no ticket, and the course passes Tower Bridge and the Embankment. A charity place is the other route to running, with a fundraising commitment that the organisers and each charity set out.
Ballots for sport outside the big four
The pattern is spreading. England's home cricket internationals at Lord's and The Oval go through ballots and member priority, set out in our guide to cricket at Lord's and The Oval. The World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace moved to a ballot for the first time for the 2026/27 championship, described in our darts and snooker guide. Football clubs run ballots for members, which a visitor without membership cannot enter.
For the Last Night of the Proms the details, including the separate telephone ballot for wheelchair spaces, are on our BBC Proms page.
Frequently asked questions
Does entering a ballot early improve my chances?
No. In a true ballot every valid application received inside the window has the same chance, and the draw takes place after it closes. Alexandra Palace's darts rules state this directly. Early entry only helps in a timed release, which is not a ballot.
Can I enter the Wimbledon ballot from outside the UK?
Wimbledon runs a single online Public Ballot through the myWimbledon account, and its published rules are about one application per household, email address and account. Check the current ballot terms on wimbledon.com for eligibility before the window opens, as the details are set each year.
Can I give my London Marathon ballot place to a friend?
No. London Marathon Events says entries cannot be transferred to someone else. If you cannot run, you may be able to defer your place to a future year under its rules for runners who are unable to take part.
Is the Chelsea Flower Show a ballot?
No. Chelsea tickets go on sale on a published date, with RHS members given priority and reduced prices. It is first come, first served, there is no waiting list, and only tickets bought through the official agent or its resale platform are valid.
What should I do if I lose the Trooping the Colour ballot?
Buy a ticket for one of the two rehearsals, the Major General's Review or the Colonel's Review, which are sold directly and cost less, or watch from The Mall or the edge of St James's Park, which is free and needs no ticket.
Sources
- Wimbledon - The Wimbledon Public Ballot (checked November 2026)
- London Marathon Events - Enter the ballot (checked November 2026)
- London Marathon Events - TCS London Marathon FAQs (ballot dates, transfers) (checked November 2026)
- The Household Division - Trooping the Colour (tickets and ballot) (checked November 2026)
- BBC Proms - Last Night tickets information (checked November 2026)
- Alexandra Palace - World Darts Championship 2026/27 (ballot rules) (checked November 2026)