Baku, May 24, AZERTAC

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, AP reported.

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.

A total of 5.2 million tickets have been sold to the general public across the first two phases — with 1.6 million going to corporate partners and others.

During the second phase only — for the sale of individual tickets and which saw four million people register for the draw — a total of 1.89 million tickets were sold in 178 countries. Fifty-eight percent of those went for 100 euros or less.

The budget for the Paris Olympics is estimated at 4.4 billion euros. Estanguet said the organizers’ goal remains generating 1.2 billion euros through tickets sales.

The Paris Games, which run from July 26-Aug. 11, 2024, will feature 32 sports and 48 disciplines across 37 sites. The Paralympic Games will then take place from Aug. 28-Sept. 8, with ticket sales beginning in autumn 2023.