Paralympics tickets prove popular with Parisians who snubbed, or missed out on, Olympics
- Many had left the city fearing crowds and traffic issues the Games would bring but now regret missing out on what turned out to be a success
Parisians are the main buyers of tickets for the Paralympic Games, organisers said, rushing to grab a second opportunity to see competitions in some of the Games’ spectacular venues, after many chose to snub the Olympics or missed out on tickets.
In July, Parisians had left the city in droves ahead of the Olympics, with entire neighbourhoods turned eerily quiet as residents decamped as they feared the disturbance and traffic problems many thought the Games would bring.
But the Games turned out to be a global success. The Paralympics will allow them to see Olympic sports in the same venues, including at the feet of the Eiffel Tower or in the gardens of the Versailles castle outside Paris.
Organisers said that of the more than 1.75 million tickets already sold ahead of the August 28 start of the Paralympics, 92 per cent came from French buyers, with buyers from the Ile-de-France region around Paris taking the lion’s share of 73 per cent.
Parisian Mathieu Bucella is set to boost these numbers a little further.
“I’m seriously thinking about it because I’m a bit annoyed that I didn’t think of getting tickets for the (Olympic) Games, so this is my second chance,” he said.
