Turin 2006 officials have been saying it for months – Italians always like to purchase tickets at the very last minute. And now it looks as if their predictions have come true.
According to Reuters the Winter Games has almost met its ticket sales target as spectators pour into Turin.
So far 750,000 tickets have been sold for a total of 63.5 million euros nearing a 64 million euro target, the Turin 2006 organizing committee said.
After months of slow sales TOROC cut its revenue target from 76 million euros in January and has said it will bus schoolchildren into less popular events to boost numbers. But it seems that Saturday morning hundreds of hopeful spectators crowded around ticket offices “clutching programs and chatting about what the less known Winter Olympic sports were like” reports Reuters.
Most of the people in line were waiting to buy tickets for figure skating practice sessions. The competition itself was the first event to sell out.
Meanwhile International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacque Rogge called the Opening Ceremony “fantastic and inspiriting”. He said, “all the feedback we have received has been excellent and we congratulate the Organizing Committee and all the people involved in the preparation of the show”.
