I am dearly hoping for a ticket to the Christmas Eve Nine Lessons & Carols service at King's College Cambridge. This has been my absolute must-listen activity on Christmas Eve day for many years, and this year I'm traveling to England, centered around the service. I've been checking the website daily, and today they opened the ballot (lottery).
You can only apply for up to 2 tickets, and you must give the name(s) of the people applying. Anyone whose name appears more than once in the ballot will be disqualified -- in other words, if you try to apply more than once then your entire effort will be thrown out. You have to provide your physical address, phone, and email. I appreciate that they state identification must be shown before entry, as this should discourage anyone trying to sell or "scalp" tickets.
Also, you must be seated by 2:40 for the 3:00 service, it lasts 1 - 1/2 hours, you are not allowed to leave before it's over, and there are no toilet facilities. Large bags are not permitted. The service is not recommended for young children.
The website says "The ballot will close at 5.00pm on Friday 13th November 2026. Successful applicants will be notified by email on Friday 20 November 2026 and provided with instructions on how to obtain their complimentary tickets." So, once you are notified, you must still take additional steps. Only those who are successful in the ballot will be notified, so if you don't get notified by Nov 20 it means you won't be getting a ticket. If I don't get a ticket, I'll just listen on the radio as I usually do, except I'll be in Cambridge!
I hope this information is helpful for anyone considering applying for tickets.