Olympics 2024: the public realizes that these "popular" Games will not be so much

The Olympic rings unfurled in front of Paris City Hall in anticipation of the 2024 Olympic Games, May 8, 2023. © Igor Gauquelin / RFI

Text by: RFI Follow

6 min

A global event, limited places to attend, organizers trying to open the floodgates, but a very large number of people necessarily disappointed. Not everyone will be able to get a ticket to attend an event of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, let alone at an affordable price. Anger is brewing, while tickets are on sale.

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Will the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris be, as promised by the organizers, "popular" Games? The issue stirred the news on Monday, May 22, especially concerning athletics, after criticism in recent days on the price of tickets. The case took another turn, as athletes from the large French family, in particular, spoke publicly.

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I want to go see athletics, as my father was able to do on the Beijing and London Games, and I can't, explains to BFMTV Jérôme Clavier, former vice-champion of Europe pole vault and finalist at the 2008 Olympics. I can't pass on to my children the pleasure of seeing athletics at the Olympics. When we were drawn, on the first pack, it was 300 euros. There are four of us, that's 1,200, and I'm a teacher, I think everyone knows what a teacher earns, and my wife earns less than me.

I'm part of the middle class, I didn't earn millions when I was a sportsman, so putting this award is not possible. We thought we'd see on the second round, and that's 700 euros.

#JO2024 Olympic
Games accessible to all you said... 🤔
In fact we must make loans to the bank so that families and loved ones can have the chance to come and see us ...
Well, at least if there are still tickets by then...#Honte #Degoutée

— Amandine Buchard OLY (@BubucheOfficiel) May 16, 2023

The crux of the matter

A first phase of ticket sales first took place in winter (3 million sales), already causing controversy. The second phase was launched on May 11, and worse. In this second pack, the organizers have decided to sell nearly 1.5 million tickets, individually. Nearly two-thirds left on the first day, they said.

Organizers are actually overwhelmed by the excitement of the event, and the voracity of buyers, they say. The places for the men's final of the heavyweight category in judo "left in two hours," they say. "Frankly, it started very strong, almost too much. This is proof of a huge enthusiasm," the committee told AFP.

Tony Estanguet, the boss of the Paris-2024 committee, had warned that not everyone could be served. "We expected criticism, we were warned that sales periods were a difficult time. But we had underestimated the magnitude, "admits a senior organizer, still in the columns of the France-Press Agency.

With four million registrants in the draw for 1.5 million tickets on sale, we knew there would be some disappointed.

The committee has planned a million tickets at 24 euros, the lowest price on its grid. Nearly 150,000 were put on sale in this second pack. The people eyeing them being obviously much more numerous, these tickets left immediately and the bulk of the troops found themselves facing much, much higher rates. Exorbitant.

After three days, the prices offered for major athletics events arrived at 690 euros, or even 980 euros for semi-finals. People were able to see that a place at the opening ceremony, on the Seine, once the 90 euro notes left, was worth 2,700 euros, twice the net minimum wage of a worker, as recalled by a user.

However, this point needs to be clarified. The opening ceremonies of previous editions were held in the Olympic Stadium of the host city. Less than 100,000 people could therefore attend this still historic moment. But this time, the start of the Olympics will be given in the city center of the capital, and the organizers are right to remind him.

The attendance gauge that will be set for the opening ceremony on the platforms is not yet precisely fixed, but the figure could be around 400,000 or 500,000 people: perhaps 100,000 paid tickets on the low platforms, and between 300,000 and 400,000 free tickets on the high platforms, according to the latest government communications.

Opening the Games wide means making everyone welcome. #17mai pic.twitter.com/M6dAPWKaku

— Tony Estanguet - OLY (@TonyEstanguet) May 17, 2023

A popular ticket office

The French Minister of Sports, also in charge of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, had to react. She did it on France Inter on Sunday. "The highest price" of tickets "is indeed very high," admitted Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. "This is also what makes it possible to have entry-level prices that are quite accessible," she defends.

As early as May 16, in front of the national representation, Ms. Oudéa-Castéra had assured that the prices of Paris-2024 were in fact "lower" than those of previous editions. "Accessible tickets, at 24 euros, exist, but they leave too quickly. It's a perception of people that the Olympics are not popular, "continues to hammer the Paris-2024 committee.

On Friday, the minister also announced the launch of a popular state ticketing called "All to the Games." There are 401,220 tickets to be issued free of charge, say our colleagues at RMC: 100,700 will be offered for the Olympic Games, 298,600 for the Paralympic Games and 1,920 for the opening ceremony. A device that wants to be "unprecedented".

In detail, 258,800 of these tickets will be offered to young people, 100,100 to volunteers of the sports movement, 17,400 to people with disabilities and their caregivers and finally 24,920 to public officials. And the government to insist again on the "popular" side that it intends to put in place on the occasion of these 2024 Olympic Games.

Some of these tickets will go to disadvantaged young people, protected by child welfare or benefiting from a support program for the holidays (...). Young people who have distinguished themselves in an exemplary way by their civic or associative commitment as well as scholarship students will also be chosen.

#Paris2024 | 🏅 Launch of popular ticketing!

👉 More than 400,000 tickets will be distributed free of charge by the State to guarantee access to the Games for as many people as possible.

Discover the eligible ⤵️audiences https://t.co/vOW3rkAXKO

— Government (@gouvernementFR) May 22, 2023

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There can't be popular Olympics, it doesn't exist "reacts however 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 mentioned popular Games. The question had indeed arisen before the Euro 2016 football.

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• Olympic Games
• Olympics 2024
• France
• Sports
• Athletics