“It’s just crazy”: sales of Olympic tickets for the Paris Games began unsuccessfully

Paris, France. Organizers of next year’s Paris Olympics have promised relatively modest prices and “peer-to-peer” access to events through an online system designed to revolutionize ticketing and bring the masses to stadiums and arenas for as little as $26.

However, as the month-long first round of sales draws to a close, many of the “lucky ones” chosen to purchase the first 3 million tickets (out of 10 million) feel frustrated, angry, and cheated because their only option within a 48-hour the purchase window paid at least €200 (US$212) for a ticket to the few remaining activities on offer. And since the ticketing system requires the purchase of multi-sport packages, the total cost for many buyers runs into the thousands of dollars.

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By the time English teacher Amelie Beni and her 9-year-old son won the lottery last week to enter the Olympic box office, the available tickets for many events had run out and all but one of their favorite sports, BMX, water polo and football – was sold out.

There were €50 ($53) tickets for the football game, but Beni also had to buy at least two tickets for two additional events. Tickets available included basketball or handball at €150 ($160), swimming at €230 ($244) and a whopping €690 ($732) for the athletics qualifiers.

“Who can afford tickets at this price? Benny asked. – I can’t”.

Beni was disappointed and said her son’s enthusiasm for attending their home Olympics on his 10th birthday disappeared when they logged out without buying anything.

“I really wanted to have tickets to the Olympics. I wanted my son to have this unique experience… in our city,” Beni said. “I was disappointed (in the ticket system) and in prices. It’s just crazy.”

To buy tickets for the first round, your name had to be drawn from a lottery. As of February 13, lucky winners have been notified via email that they have a 48-hour window to purchase three to 30 tickets to at least three different events out of the 32 available. The first stage of ticket sales ends on March 15.

Organizers say they are aware of high demand and acknowledge that not everyone who wants to attend the Paris Olympics will be able to get a ticket, and even fewer will be able to get tickets at a bargain price.

“We know people will be disappointed and we know we don’t have tickets for everyone,” Michael Aloisio, deputy general manager of the Paris Olympics, told The Associated Press. “But we also know that we will soon have more sales stages open with more tickets.”

Ticket sales make up a significant portion of the revenue — a third, according to Aloisio — that Parisian organizers must pay for the Olympics.

“The challenge for us was to make sure this goal didn’t compromise our goal of making these Games accessible,” Aloisio said.

The announcement last year that there would be 1 million tickets for 24 euros ($26) and more than 4 million for less than 50 euros ($53) was enthusiastically received by fans in France and around the world. However, these tickets sold out within the first few days of the lottery, with those “lucky” being drawn later with high prices and a small selection of events.

Aloisio said that only 10% of all 10 million tickets cost more than 200 euros ($212).

“It’s these tickets that allow other tickets to be more affordable and balance it all out,” he said.

Robin Allison Davis, a 38-year-old American and self-proclaimed “Olympic superfan”, said she wasn’t expecting to find a good deal when it was her turn to hunt for tickets to her favorite sports – gymnastics, swimming and track and field.

She was willing to pay 260 euros ($276) for a ticket to watch two hours of a gymnastics qualifier, but then became disillusioned when the online box office turned into a virtual casino.

“I knew it would be expensive, but why is the system that promised to give me the freedom and choice to form my own Olympic package fooling me into buying expensive tickets for a sport I don’t want to see if I want to get expensive tickets for an event I really want to see,” Davis said. “The ticket package is a racket.”

Davis has lived in Paris for six and a half years and works as a freelance journalist. She didn’t buy tickets during the first round, saying she would try her luck again in a second draw in May and splurge on individual tickets.

Aloisio, a spokesman for the organizing committee, defended the ticket package system and said the Paris organizers were keen to spark interest in other sports during the Olympics.

“These packages are a way to get people interested and buy tickets for a semi-final in water polo, hockey or rugby, sports that may have had less demand,” Aloisio said.

In total, 10 million tickets for the Olympic Games and 3.4 million for the Paralympic Games will be available on the online platform. Individual tickets will become available in the second round starting May 11. Registration for this draw will begin March 15th.

The third stage is expected to start at the end of the year when all remaining tickets go on sale.

Surk reported from Nice, France. Associated Press reporter Alex Turnbull from Paris contributed to this report.