Paris 2024: Ticket-buying slots set to open for Olympics in France

The second stage of ticket purchasing for Paris 2024 is almost upon us.

Organisers have begun sending emails to those who have won ticket-buying slots for the Olympics in the French capital. If you applied, you are advised to check your inbox and spam folder.

Winners will have a 48-hour slot to buy tickets for individual Paris 2024 events. The first of these windows will open on Thursday, May 11.

Around 1.5 million tickets will be available at this stage, with 150,000 of these costing €24.

There are lingering complaints, however, that the ballot system is unfair, with those allocated an early purchase slot grabbing both the most desirable – and cheapest – tickets and leaving those with later purchase slots little choice.

Three-stage structure

The upcoming round will be the second of three ‘stages’ to buy tickets.

The first, in February and March, allowed exclusively for the purchasing of ticket ‘bundles’, where tickets for a minimum of three events had to be bought together.

This led to complaints of excessive prices and the necessity to buy undesired tickets to watch a single event of interest, putting some purchasers off.

This stage, however, will give people the chance to buy tickets for individual events – for example, if you are only interested in attending the long jump or volleyball events, you can buy tickets solely for that event.

Those who are granted a purchase slot will receive an email with information on the date of their slot, and when it opens they will have 48 hours to make their choices - although not everyone who applied for a slot will be given one.

The structure has come under fire previously, being seen as unfair and more akin to a lottery, with a clear advantage given to those who by chance have an early purchase slot to hoard the “best” tickets.

At the end of the year, a third stage will go live, selling all remaining tickets left for any events.

All tickets are only purchasable through the official site, in a bid to prevent ticket scalpers and scammers.

Read also: Flying ‘drone taxis’ on track to carry passengers at Paris Olympics

What tickets can I buy – and for what price?

If you do receive a purchase slot for this stage, depending on the availability of tickets, you will be able to buy them for up to 750 ‘sessions’ across all events at the Olympics.

You can buy up to six tickets per session, with your account limited to a total of 30 tickets across all three stages – if you have already bought 30 tickets in the first phase, you cannot purchase any more now.

Ticket prices will start at €24, but this stage will see tickets for the final of a number of events go live, with wildly oscillating prices.

Tickets for the swimming finals (€290) and Judo finals (€360) are dwarfed by the highest figures for the basketball gold medal match (anywhere between €95 and €980).

This stage will also see the availability of tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies anywhere between €90 and €2,700 for the opening ceremony along the banks of the Seine, to €45 and an eye-watering €16,000 for the closing ceremony at the Stade de France.

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