Paris Olympics and Paralympics: How to maximise your chances of getting tickets
Extremely high demand has left many disappointed, but there are still opportunities to bag tickets for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games - here's how ticket sales works and how to maximise your chances.
Tickets for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games (more on the Paralympics later) first went on sale at the beginning of 2023 and we're currently in phase three of the sales period.
Phases 1 and 2 - which are now closed - involved people entering into an online draw for tickets. These were extremely popular and many people reported that by the time they got a buying slot events were all either sold out or only had the most expensive tickets - €1,000 or more - available.
But phase three is more straightforward with tickets sold online on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Events outside the capital
On July 5th, sales opened on the official website for events outside the capital. Although the Games are based in Paris and the Paris region there are some events in other places including sailing in Marseille, basketball in Lille and football in Marseille, Lyon, Nice and Saint-Etienne.
Summer
Later through the summer and autumn - no exact dates yet - the rest of the tickets including events in the capital will be released onto the sales site.
Around 5.2 million tickets were sold in the first two phases of sales, but 3 million are still available, including 150,000 of the cheapest €24 tickets.
Organisers say that tickets will continue to be added to the sales site until the start of the Games, as venues finalise their capacity and tickets are distributed to sports clubs and associations.
READ MORE: Hotels, tickets and scams: What to know about visiting Paris for the 2024 Olympics
Organisers have some tips to maximise your chances of getting tickets as each sales phase opens.
Plan - it's highly recommended to research in advance what you want - once you're on the site speed is important so there's no time for browsing. It's recommended to research in advance the time, place and date of events so you know exactly what you want.
Account - it's also a good idea to check that you can remember your login details for your account on the Olympics website and that your debit card is valid so your transaction won't be cancelled when it's time to pay.
Connections - also make sure that you're set up in a space with a good internet connection so your transaction won't freeze of crash halfway through.
Be open-minded - certain events - such as the opening ceremony, athletics and basketball are extremely popular and hard to get tickets for, so have a look in advance for some other events you might enjoy. The Olympics are a great time to try out a new sport that you've never seen before.
Opening ceremony
Tickets for the opening ceremony sold out even faster than the sporting events, with even people who managed to get an early slot on the ticket sales website reporting that only a few tickets in the highest price categories - €1,600 and €2,700 per ticket - were available.
However, organisers have now announced that an extra 100,000 tickets will be available. These will be for standing room on the upper embankments of the river and will be free. The paid-for tickets are for seated areas along the quais.
Exact details of how the free ticket sale have not yet been announced, we will update this article as soon as they are.
Paralympics
The tickets in the sales outlined above are only for Olympic events.
However, we also have the Paralympics from August 28th to September 8th - mostly the same sports as the Olympics but frequently even better because of the amazing challenges overcome by the athletes who compete.
Tickets for the Paralympics will go on sale October 9th - and these will be on a first-come, first-served basis, no lotteries, via the same ticketing website.
In total there are 2.8 million tickets for Paralympic events, including 500,000 at €15. Single event tickets will not exceed €100.
READ MORE: Ticket sales to open in October for 2024 Paris Paralympic Games
Resale site
In order to deter ticket touts, the Olympics will also set up an official resale website, so that people who bought tickets but are unable to attend can sell their tickets back to the organisers for the price they paid (minus an admin fee). These tickets will then be resold via the admin site, for the original price.
There's no confirmed start date for this but it will be much closer to the event - at the moment it's slated for the "second quarter of 2024".
Any other options?
For the first time ever, ticketing is 100 percent digitalised and centralised on the same website, so it’s open to everyone around the world on exactly the same terms.
There has been a lot of work done on measures to stop ticket touting, probably these won’t all be successful but extreme caution is advised when buying from resale sites as these are not officially authorised.
The French government will buy 400,000 Olympic tickets, to “distribute to young people and schoolchildren, especially those under 16, to volunteers who contribute to the Games and to sport in France, to people with disabilities, to their caregivers, and to state and local government officials who help with the Games.”
The Games organisers will also set up a ‘social ticketing’ site – exact date TBC – with up to 1 million tickets reserved for special groups, including young people from poor areas and volunteers who work for sports programmes throughout the year.
And, as ever, there will be corporate hospitality, so if you have no luck on the ticketing site then your best bet might be to make friends with someone who scored tickets through their work and buy one of the corporate hospitality packs.
Prices - of the 10 million tickets available for the Olympics, 1 million are at €24 and 4 million are at €50, with the remaining 5 million selling at higher prices - from €60 right up to €960 for the finals of the big events and a whopping €2,700 for the most expensive tickets for the opening ceremony.
The 2024 Olympic Games run from 26th July to 11th August 2024, followed by the Paralympic Games from 28th August to 8th September.
READ ALSO Paris Paralympic Games organisers unveil events schedule
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Tickets for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games (more on the Paralympics later) first went on sale at the beginning of 2023 and we're currently in phase three of the sales period.
Phases 1 and 2 - which are now closed - involved people entering into an online draw for tickets. These were extremely popular and many people reported that by the time they got a buying slot events were all either sold out or only had the most expensive tickets - €1,000 or more - available.
But phase three is more straightforward with tickets sold online on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Events outside the capital
On July 5th, sales opened on the official website for events outside the capital. Although the Games are based in Paris and the Paris region there are some events in other places including sailing in Marseille, basketball in Lille and football in Marseille, Lyon, Nice and Saint-Etienne.
Summer
Later through the summer and autumn - no exact dates yet - the rest of the tickets including events in the capital will be released onto the sales site.
Around 5.2 million tickets were sold in the first two phases of sales, but 3 million are still available, including 150,000 of the cheapest €24 tickets.
Organisers say that tickets will continue to be added to the sales site until the start of the Games, as venues finalise their capacity and tickets are distributed to sports clubs and associations.
READ MORE: Hotels, tickets and scams: What to know about visiting Paris for the 2024 Olympics
Organisers have some tips to maximise your chances of getting tickets as each sales phase opens.
Plan - it's highly recommended to research in advance what you want - once you're on the site speed is important so there's no time for browsing. It's recommended to research in advance the time, place and date of events so you know exactly what you want.
Account - it's also a good idea to check that you can remember your login details for your account on the Olympics website and that your debit card is valid so your transaction won't be cancelled when it's time to pay.
Connections - also make sure that you're set up in a space with a good internet connection so your transaction won't freeze of crash halfway through.
Be open-minded - certain events - such as the opening ceremony, athletics and basketball are extremely popular and hard to get tickets for, so have a look in advance for some other events you might enjoy. The Olympics are a great time to try out a new sport that you've never seen before.
Opening ceremony
Tickets for the opening ceremony sold out even faster than the sporting events, with even people who managed to get an early slot on the ticket sales website reporting that only a few tickets in the highest price categories - €1,600 and €2,700 per ticket - were available.
However, organisers have now announced that an extra 100,000 tickets will be available. These will be for standing room on the upper embankments of the river and will be free. The paid-for tickets are for seated areas along the quais.
Exact details of how the free ticket sale have not yet been announced, we will update this article as soon as they are.
Paralympics
The tickets in the sales outlined above are only for Olympic events.
However, we also have the Paralympics from August 28th to September 8th - mostly the same sports as the Olympics but frequently even better because of the amazing challenges overcome by the athletes who compete.
Tickets for the Paralympics will go on sale October 9th - and these will be on a first-come, first-served basis, no lotteries, via the same ticketing website.
In total there are 2.8 million tickets for Paralympic events, including 500,000 at €15. Single event tickets will not exceed €100.
READ MORE: Ticket sales to open in October for 2024 Paris Paralympic Games
Resale site
In order to deter ticket touts, the Olympics will also set up an official resale website, so that people who bought tickets but are unable to attend can sell their tickets back to the organisers for the price they paid (minus an admin fee). These tickets will then be resold via the admin site, for the original price.
There's no confirmed start date for this but it will be much closer to the event - at the moment it's slated for the "second quarter of 2024".
Any other options?
For the first time ever, ticketing is 100 percent digitalised and centralised on the same website, so it’s open to everyone around the world on exactly the same terms.
There has been a lot of work done on measures to stop ticket touting, probably these won’t all be successful but extreme caution is advised when buying from resale sites as these are not officially authorised.
The French government will buy 400,000 Olympic tickets, to “distribute to young people and schoolchildren, especially those under 16, to volunteers who contribute to the Games and to sport in France, to people with disabilities, to their caregivers, and to state and local government officials who help with the Games.”
The Games organisers will also set up a ‘social ticketing’ site – exact date TBC – with up to 1 million tickets reserved for special groups, including young people from poor areas and volunteers who work for sports programmes throughout the year.
And, as ever, there will be corporate hospitality, so if you have no luck on the ticketing site then your best bet might be to make friends with someone who scored tickets through their work and buy one of the corporate hospitality packs.
Prices - of the 10 million tickets available for the Olympics, 1 million are at €24 and 4 million are at €50, with the remaining 5 million selling at higher prices - from €60 right up to €960 for the finals of the big events and a whopping €2,700 for the most expensive tickets for the opening ceremony.
The 2024 Olympic Games run from 26th July to 11th August 2024, followed by the Paralympic Games from 28th August to 8th September.
READ ALSO Paris Paralympic Games organisers unveil events schedule
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