The contrast is striking. By navigating on the one hand what remains of the online ticketing for the 2024 Olympic Games, where the remaining crumbs are worth gold, and on the other hand on that of the Paralympic Games, where the most popular disciplines remain affordable, we can easily guess the disparate state of progress in which the two events find themselves. Be careful not to hang around, some sessions are already full: this is the case for para-shooting sports or armchair fencing.
In all, only a third of the tickets (around 900,000) were declared sold at the last count, at the beginning of spring, including 80% to public actors, namely partners of the Games as well as the State (which weighs 300,000 places alone). A new milestone is expected this week, 100 days before what Paris 2024 calls “the return match”. In the meantime, the organization says it is seeing “strong enthusiasm for ticketing for the Paralympic Games” and “continues to move forward in this direction”. Vague.
Still on time compared to London and Rio
No panic on board, says the trend, if only because the case law of London 2012 and Rio 2016 – Tokyo is logically excluded from the equation – point in the direction of a last minute craze. 12 years ago, more than 2.7 million tickets were sold, including 600,000 in the last weeks preceding the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games. In Brazil, the run-up to the Paralympic Games looked disastrous and had finally delivered the second best score in history ahead of Beijing 2008, again thanks to a rush for last minute tickets.
A slight concern would nevertheless remain on the part of the organizers, keen to refine their communication to reach the general public. Tony Estanguet himself came out of the woods on Wednesday to recall, in comments relayed by France Info, that “there are still quite exceptional places at the Stade de France for swimming, but also at the Champ de Mars, Place des Invalides”. The rest of the argument, however, reflects a slight lack of creativity and a lot of commonplaces. “You will rediscover the passion for sport, the emotions of the Olympic Games, and also discover an event which is still very moving. […] Beyond the sporting performances, we are also impressed by this capacity, this courage, this determination, this resilience of the Paralympic athletes. »
It will take a little more to start the hype. “2012 was a success because London managed to make stars,” recalls Axel Zorzi, para-athlete, holder of the French 100m record in 10.83 and chance of a medal this summer. To make stars you need story telling, the media presence of athletes and succeed in arousing people’s interest. But whose job is it to make the communication? To the organizers of the Olympic Games? To the organizers of the Paralympic Games? To the media? »
Pampered para-athletes, neglected boccia
The sprinter, however, does not fear running in an empty Stade de France, para-athletics remaining a flagship discipline of the Games, as he was able to smell during the 2023 Worlds, at the Charléty stadium.
“ Last year, we were able to experience this hyper solicitation, this hyper media presence. We were warned that it would be the same at the Games. At the world championships in Paris, I ran in front of 10,000 people, nothing like what I had experienced before. It was incredible. But it is certain that this will not necessarily be the case for all disciplines. » »
Like boccia, which still offers places for each session. For it and other less popular disciplines, the organization will have to redouble its ideas.