"The highest price" of tickets for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games "is indeed very high". This is the least that Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, captain Obvious for a day, could see by defending tickets at 2,700 euros for the opening ceremony of the Olympics. "If there are people who, because they are in love with sports (...) are able to put these prices, so much the better, "insists the Minister of Sports in the program "Political Questions" on France Inter.

"It's also what makes it possible to have entry-level prices that are quite accessible." An "accessibility" that costs 90 euros, for the cheapest tickets to attend the opening ceremony from the lower banks of the Seine, sold at the beginning of the week. In total, 100,000 places will be paid for this opening ceremony, and the overall gauge "is still adjusting" but will be "roughly in a low water of 300,000 to 400,000 places" free, says the minister.

A gymnastics final? "From 630 euros"

The price of tickets to attend the Olympic Games has been the subject of controversy since the opening of the ticket office. If "half of the tickets offered to the general public are 50 euros and less", as Amélie Oudéa-Castéra repeats, many Internet users have searched in vain for such rates, despite a draw to their advantage. For popular sports such as swimming or athletics, some qualifying sessions were worth more than 600 euros from the first sale.

It seems that the "10% of tickets above 200 euros" were the most highlighted. But overall, the organizing committee remains adamant about defending the need to finance the Olympics through ticket prices, without measuring the level of disconnection with average purchasing power. "The British did not scream to death when they paid tickets between 80 and 90 pounds," said Nathalie Iannetta, head of the sports department of Radio France, to which Internet users responded by capturing places for volleyball qualifiers from 140 euros, a gymnastics final at 630 euros and swimming semifinals at 980 euros.



The comparison with the London Olympics in 2012 is also a perilous exercise for the organizing committee, which boasts of "popular games". Many journalists and Internet users have accurately compared the two fee schedules. Observation: 1 million tickets at 24 euros in Paris, against 2.5 million in London. Prices have especially exploded in certain disciplines where the French perform, and therefore more expected by the French public. In fencing, the prices to attend a final have taken between 150 and 187% depending on the category. The price of the cheapest ticket for the opening ceremony has soared by 273% in twelve years. This explains the anger of the public, and that of some athletes, who regret that it is "easier to participate in the Olympics than to attend".

  • Paris 2024 Olympics
  • Sport
  • Amélie Oudéa-Castéra
  • Olympic Games
  • Paris
  • Ile