Paris,: Organizers of the Paris Olympics said they have sold 6.8 million tickets out of 10 million available with 14 months left before the opening ceremony and on Tuesday brushed off criticism that prices are too high.
Tony Estanguet, the organizing committee president, said the second ticketing phase that ended last week exceeded expectations despite some fans and athletes complaining about hefty prices.
The most expensive tickets are 2,700 euros ($2,900) for the opening ceremony, and the sports with the highest prices are the athletics, swimming and basketball finals. The cheapest tickets are 24 euros ($26) and were quickly snapped up, leaving just 200,000 low-cost seats available in a later round to the frustration of many buyers.
A key goal was to keep a large amount of tickets affordable, said Estanguet, citing that the 5.3 percent of tickets that cost 400 euros each are guaranteeing that four million seats can be bought for 50 euros or less.
