More than 270,000 tickets are reportedly unsold ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris
The number of unwanted Paris Olympics tickets available for resale has surpassed a quarter of a million due to a lack of demand just days before the opening ceremony on Friday, according to the Financial Times. The newspaper’s analysis of the official resale site revealed that the number of listings reached 270,465 on Monday, significantly higher than the approximately 180,000 listed a month ago.
The most expensive tickets on the resale site are for the opening ceremony, with the best seats priced at €2,970 ($3,222).
The weak secondary market demand for high-priced seats has raised concerns that many athletes might be competing before a sparse audience, the newspaper stated.
Sports enthusiasts planning to attend the summer games were reportedly required to purchase blocks of tickets for three separate events during the first wave of sales. Organizers had announced that any unwanted tickets could then be resold through the official channel.
However, the lack of demand in the secondary market has left many with unsold tickets, while organizers have continued to release more. Unwanted seats must be resold at face value, according to FT.
“There are so many athletics tickets on the resale platform,” a Reddit forum user reportedly complained, adding “I’m feeling bummed that I might be stuck with (good!) tickets. At this point it’s a sunk cost.”
The President of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Tony Estanguet, mentioned on Sunday that there were still hundreds of thousands of unsold tickets, in addition to those listed on the official resale site. However, he also noted that a record 8.8 million tickets had already been sold.
According to FT, fans can still purchase tickets for major events such as the men’s 100 meters final, starting at €295 per person with a restricted view, with the price rising to €980 for Category A seats. Around 4,000 tickets, beginning at €900, are still available for Friday night’s opening ceremony, the newspaper reported.
More than 80,000 of the listed ticket resale offers are reportedly for football matches, which will be played at stadiums across France.
The 2024 Olympic Games will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11. The opening ceremony on Friday is expected to feature 3,000 dancers, musicians, and actors performing along the banks of the River Seine. It will mark the first time the inauguration of the games takes place outside of a stadium.