He organised the Olympic Games himself when he was at the helm of the London 2012 Games. The president of the International Athletics Federation, Sebastian Coe, on Monday regretted the "high" price of tickets for the public at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"It is my responsibility to make sure that our sport takes place in as good an environment as possible, that the French organising committee does everything it can to fill the stadiums, even if ticket prices are, as we know, high," he said in an end-of-year conference call with news agencies.
More than 7.6 million tickets have already gone on sale for the Paris Games. Some are offered at a minimum price of 24 euros, but others, especially for athletics competitions, cost up to 690 euros. Some French athletes have criticized the price of tickets on social media.
He calls for "events at affordable prices"
"Our concern will always be to have fans in the stadiums to watch events at affordable prices that allow us to grow our sport," Coe said. In particular, he pointed to the need to "take into consideration" the families of the athletes, who will travel to cheer on their loved ones.
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The two-time Olympic champion in the 1500,<> metres wished "good luck" to Tony Estanguet, the president of the French organising committee, and his staff. And he hoped "that the Games will take place safely and not in an atmosphere of lockdown".
France is preparing to host the Olympic Games in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024, an extraordinary event in terms of organization made even more complex by the international context of the wars in Ukraine and between Israel and Hamas.