He had hoped today would be the day, but it was not to be for diver Tom Daley as he and Pete Waterfield came fourth in the synchronised 10m platform final at the Olympics.

Before the competition, 18-year-old Daley tweeted: "After the toughest year of my life, today is the day! I just want to thank everyone for all their support no matter what the outcome x"

But he and Waterfield could not continue Britain's medal success started by Lizzie Armitstead and Rebecca Adlington, coming fourth in the competition, with China's Cao Yuan and Zhang Yanquan taking gold.

But the crowds, which included Prime Minister David Cameron, were on the British divers' side, roaring as they were introduced and decorating the stands in the Aquatics Centre with a sea of red, white and blue.

Spectators leaving the Aquatic Centre said their high hopes for gold had been dashed. Council worker Andy Jennings, 44, from Birmingham, said: "I'm absolutely gutted. It was so exciting in the first three rounds, and then, oh what a shame. We really thought there was going to be a gold, we had such high expectations."

Website manager Barry Wade, 44, from Nottingham, said: "I think the guys did a really good job. They work really hard and they gave it their best shot.

"They were doing so well at first but then there were a couple of errors where they slipped up. At the end of the day we came here to see a couple of guys give it their all and that's what we've seen so I'm still happy."

Daley's appearance came as Locog said 3,000 tickets from international sports federations put on sale on Sunday night had sold out.

Jackie Brock-Doyle, Locog director of communications, said officials will do the same thing on a day-by-day basis to make sure as many seats as possible are filled. She said tickets could be resold depending on security arrangements, and otherwise there are contingency plans involving giving seats to troops or students and teachers.

Visa issues at Wembley Stadium, which left fans stuck in "ridiculous" queues for food and drink, have been resolved, said the company.