(DailyVantage.com) – Paris Olympic organizers began slashing ticket prices for some competitions to increase turnout for the summer games.
The Summer Olympics that began last weekend have been plagued by sparsely attended events, with some competitions taking place before plenty of empty seats.
Just one day before the July 26 opening ceremony, more than one million tickets remained unsold, including many for the controversial opening ceremony along the River Seine.
While organizers were touting the record-breaking ticket sales of 8.8 million before the games began, there were still many more tickets left the day before the opening ceremony, raising concerns that some events would be held in front of many empty seats.
Meanwhile, many of those who purchased tickets to the games were seeking to offload tickets they no longer wanted.
According to an analysis of the official Olympic ticket app’s authorized resale for Olympic events, the number of active listings to resell tickets to the Paris Games skyrocketed from 180,000 to 270,000 in the month before the Olympics began.
However, those seeking to resell their tickets were prohibited from setting their own prices, often resulting in tickets for resale costing more than the tickets offered by Olympic organizers.
The arson attacks on France’s rail network that delayed hundreds of thousands of ticket holders from reaching Paris contributed to the empty seats, as did the expensive ticket prices.
The women’s soccer match between Australia and Germany, which took place in a stadium with a 67,000-seat capacity, was attended by fewer than 10,000 spectators.
To increase sales, organizers were adding new tickets to the official Paris Olympics website and ticketing app.
By last Monday, organizers began offering bargain ticket prices for some of the events, including basketball, handball, soccer, and rugby.
Tickets for soccer and rugby matches were reduced to as little as €15 (roughly $16.25 US).
Tickets for unrestricted access start at €385 (roughly $415 US) and can run as high as €1,000 (roughly $1,082 US).
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