While the organizers of the Paris Olympics launched the second phase of ticket sales on May 11, the prices are once again arousing controversy. Enough to undermine the promise of “popular” Games.
After the controversy that arose during the first phase of ticket sales by “packs” this winter, the ticket office is once again attracting criticism, including this time from athletes. For this second phase, launched on May 11, the organizers had decided to sell nearly 1.5 million tickets, individually. From the first day, almost two thirds of sesames left according to the organizers.
The places for the men’s final of the heavy category in judo, that of Teddy Riner, “left in two hours“, says Paris-2024. “Frankly it started very strong, almost too much. This is proof of a huge enthusiasm“, reacts the organizing committee. But the prices, considered far too high by some, have once again provoked protests, on social networks in particular.
Of the million seats at 24 euros for these Olympic Games, the lowest price, nearly 150,000 have been put up for sale for this second phase. But mechanically, since these first tickets were the first to go, potential buyers quickly found themselves facing much higher prices.
Three days after the launch of this second phase of sales, sports fans were offered tickets at 690 euros or even 980 euros for the semi-finals of athletics, tickets at 2,700 euros for the opening ceremony .
Some athletes themselves have expressed criticism of the pricing policy. “Olympic Games accessible to all, you said… In fact, you have to make bank loans so that families and loved ones can have the chance to come and see us… Well, at least if by then there are still tickets“, deplores judoka Amandine Buchard, bronze medalist in less than 52 kg at the last World Championships.
“How can we charge such high prices for our sport?“, also protested on Instagram Jimmy Gressier, 2023 French cross-country champion. “I’m not even sure that my family will be able to come and see me, it’s so expensive“, also declared the Belgian Nafissatou Thiam, double Olympic champion in heptathlon, to the Belgian media DH.
For their part, the organizers consider this trial “unfair“. In particular, they had to deal with a technical bug, an error in the scheduling of events over eight athletics sessions, for which Tony Estanguet, the president of the Games Organizing Committee, has undertaken to find a solution. .
“We were expecting the criticism, we were warned that the sales periods were a difficult time. But we had underestimated the magnitude“, indicates a Paris-2024 executive to AFP. “With four million registered in the draw for 1.5 million tickets on sale, we knew there would be disappointed“, adds this source.
At the National Assembly, on May 16, the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra also defended the pricing policy by stating that the prices of Paris-2024 were “lower“to previous editions.”Accessible tickets, at 24 euros, exist but they go too quickly. It’s a perception of people that the Olympics are not popular“, defends Paris-2024.
“There can’t be popular Olympics, that doesn’t exist“, says on the contrary to AFP David Roizen, expert in sports policy.The Champions League final, the Olympics, are events reserved for a financial elite. It is a mistake to have evoked popular Games“, estimates the expert associated with the Jean-Jaurès foundation.
With AFP.
2023-05-23 03:05:07
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