With the Rio Olympics just two weeks away, the major worry for organisers is the amount of tickets that have not been sold until now. Reports have suggested that close to two million tickets for the extravagant event are still unsold.
This worry has been playing on the minds of the organisers which has forced the Brazilian Olympic Committee to reduce the prices for most of the tickets up for grabs. The move would mean that sports fans who are living outside Brazil can now get the same tickets at a lower price.
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The spectators who have already purchased the tickets will be regretting their early decision to buy, as the same tickets are now costing less.
Also Read: Rio Olympics 2016: Brazil facing problems despite venues being ready
The event which will be held between August 5th - 21st has been failing to get the ticket sales up because of fears of the Zika virus. However, the organisers are confident that opening up their local ticket website to the rest of the world will enhance the sale of tickets.
This would mean that the non-Brazilians can now buy the tickets in Brazilian Reals, which would cost a lot less than before.
Rio ticket director, Donovan Ferreti told The Associated Press on Tuesday, “This is a great deal for someone coming to Brazil. Now the exchange rate is in their favor.”
The decision of the organisers will upset the Americans who have already bought the ticket as the organizers had reached an agreement with official ticket resellers outside Brazil more than a year ago. The agreement stated that the spectators who will buy the tickets in dollars will be using the exchange rate of 2.35 reals to the dollar.
That same rate is now up to about 3.25.
The change in the exchange rate implies that a ticket priced at 500 reals would have cost an American $215 plus upto 20% service charge. However, the same ticket can be bought now by an American at about $150 without any service charge on the website.
Ferreti informed that the tickets can be bought in Reals without any extra fees. He also said that the website has been open to all since 1st June 2016 and that the last batch of 100,000 tickets will be up for grabs, beginning Thursday at noon Brazilian local time.
Ferreti said, “We have tickets for all sports, so it’s a grand chance for people around the world to buy their tickets. We are selling many more tickets now that we are getting closer to the games.”
The ticket director also said the Games have seen a sale of 4.4 million (72%) out of the 6.1 million tickets that were made available. He further added that 1.1 million non-Brazilians have bought the tickets who hail mostly from countries like USA, France, Argentina, Germany and Japan.
The Brazilian also said that Rio will be able to raise the expected earnings of 1.045 billion Reals ($320 million) through ticket sale, adding that no free tickets will be distributed even if the venues remain empty.
Even though the organisers have decreased the prices, there is no doubt why people from outside Brazil have not been active enough to buy the tickets. The organisers have been keeping mum on the impact that the Zika virus has had on non-Brazilians.
But, it is clearly evident from the ticket sales that people do not want to visit the country in such a scenario.
