Olympic ticket sale creates big interest among Olympic fans – survey shows majority in France in favour of welcoming athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport as neutral athletes
Ahead of the 500-days-to-go countdown for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, France is looking forward to the Games, and the French fans are getting ready. A total of 3.25 million tickets were sold in just the first three weeks of the Paris 2024 ticket sale, and two-thirds of the tickets went to people from France. Overall, fans from 158 countries bought tickets during this phase.
An online survey, conducted on behalf of RTL by research company Odoxa at the beginning of March, shows French people are also ready to welcome athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport as neutral athletes to the Games. The survey included responses from 1,005 people representative of the French population aged 18 and over.
The poll found that 72 per cent of the French people are in support of the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport, with 44 per cent suggesting they should be at the Games under a neutral banner, without the use of flags, anthem, colours or any kind of identification of their country.
This is already happening in a number of international sports over the past weeks and months. Just last weekend, we saw a Ukrainian player winning the WTA tournament in Austin, Texas, in a final against a player with a Russian passport. The Australian Open women’s singles in tennis was won by a neutral athlete with a Belarusian passport.
While there are no discussions around the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 yet, the IOC is exploring a primary concept for conditions of participation for athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions. No decision has yet been taken. The exploration of this concept is happening by way of consultations with all the International Federations, which are the sole authority for international competitions.
The current sale of 3.25 million tickets for Paris 2024 makes it the largest sale of tickets for a sporting event in France. During this initial sales phase, more than 400,000 tickets priced at EUR 24 were sold. Around 70 per cent of tickets sold cost less than EUR 100 and only 4.5 per cent cost EUR 200 or more.
Anyone who has not yet secured their ticket still has a chance to do so, starting on 15 March, when the registration period for the sale of individual tickets will open.
During phase two, 1.5 million single tickets will be on sale through the official Paris 2024 ticketing platform, with around 300,000 at EUR 24.
In total, 10 million tickets will be on sale during all the phases, 80 per cent of which directly to the general public. One million of these tickets are priced at just EUR 24 and almost half are priced at EUR 50 or less.
The prices reflect Paris 2024’s commitment to hosting accessible and affordable Games, in line with its “Games Wide Open” slogan.
The Olympic Games Paris 2024 will take place between 26 July and 11 August, with the Paralympic Games then taking place from 28 August until 8 September.