Why are tickets still available for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris?
Tickets are still available for major events, even more than a week after the 2024 Olympics kick off in Paris, including the men’s and women’s 100m finals.
While organizers say more tickets have been sold than ever before, with eight of the 10 million available tickets going on general sale, not all tickets for athletics events have been sold.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Olympic website still showed availability for the men’s 10,000-meter final on Friday night, while the first round of the women’s 800 meters was also being held at the Stade de France. The cheapest tickets left start at €195 ($210; £165), as the €85 ($92; £72) price category has sold out.
While on the pricey side – €690 ($744; £582) – there is still availability to attend Saturday night’s athletics events, including the semi-finals and final of the women’s 100 metres, as well as the mixed 4×400 metre relay final.
One of the Games’ showpieces, the men’s 100 metres final, likely to feature Team USA star Noah Lyles, is available, with tickets still on general sale for €525 ($566; £443). The cheapest option, which has now sold out, was a Category D ticket, which cost €125 ($135; £105).
Some events, such as freestyle BMX, sold out on the first day (Jeff Pachoud/AFP via Getty Images)
Tickets for the first round of the men’s and women’s 4x100m relay on August 8 are still €170 ($183; £143) – the cheapest ticket before it sold out was €24 ($26; £20).
Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics and head of the London 2012 Olympic Games organising committee, has previously expressed concerns about ticket prices in Paris.
“These will be the most expensive ticket prices in an athletics stadium that we have ever seen at the Olympic Games,” Lord Coe said in December. “I don’t want to see fans, athletes and their families being chased out of the stadium.”
Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 organising committee, responded to Lord Coe’s comments and defended their awards.
“If I look at what has happened in terms of previous editions in London or even Tokyo, we are roughly in the same price range,” said Estanguet.
“In London the minimum price was £20, which with inflation equates to around €27, and the maximum price was £725, which with inflation equates to just over €1,000 today. So these prices are slightly higher than those of Paris 2024.”
The 2024 organizing committee said prices would be on par with those of the 2012 Olympics, adjusted for inflation (Adam Pretty/Getty Images)
In addition to athletics, there are plenty of other events for which tickets cost €15 ($16; £13), including the men’s football quarter-final between Spain and Japan on Friday night.
At the other end of the spectrum, tickets are only available for the final of the men’s basketball tournament, in which the American all-star team, including LeBron James and Steph Curry, can participate.
These tickets cost €6,500 ($7,000; £5,500) and include a package to visit the Eiffel Tower.
Of the 10 million tickets for the Olympic Games in Paris, two million were reserved for the catering industry and other stakeholders.
The general sale of tickets, which must be purchased through the official Olympic Games website, took place in several stages and initially involved a lottery system, with successful applicants having to purchase tickets for at least three different events.
There are a number of Olympic events you can watch for free (Alex Broadway/Getty Images)
Events such as climbing and BMX freestyle sold out on the first day, and track cycling, fencing and judo also sold out within a few days.
There is, of course, another option: unless you want to sit in the purpose-built grandstand, you can queue for free at certain events, including the men’s and women’s marathons and the cycling races this weekend.
(Header photo: Olivier Chassignole/AFP via Getty Images)
