About 650,000 of the one million tickets available for the Winter Games have been sold, said a Turin 2006 organizing committee spokesman Friday. Organizers need to sell around 800,000 tickets to meet their budget goals. Last week about 630,000 tickets were sold. Tickets sales have escalated because of Italian interest in Alpine skiing since Giorgio Rocca won a series of slalom races. A TOROC spokesman said, “tickets for Rocca’s slalom are almost sold out. We’re considering putting up extra spectator stands”. Ice hockey, figure skating and short track skating are the most popular events while luge and bobsleigh ticket sales remain sluggish.
Italian officials are sending bomb squads to venues and deploying thousands of police to patrol potential targets at 2006 Games sites reports the Associated Press. Explosive experts using sniffer dogs were securing competition sites and lodgings for athletes, foreign dignitaries and media Interior Ministry officials said Friday. Once each area is cleared it will be put under around-the-clock surveillance officials said during a briefing in Rome on security measures. Of the more than 9,000 officers which will be on guard, about 5,500 are already in place. To date 21 heads of state, six royal families and 15 heads of government have confirmed their participation, said officials.
The Olympic torch relay has been temporarily interrupted because of the severe cold and heavy snow in the northern parts of Italy, and runners found it extremely hard to carry the torch in the inclement weather. Organizers decided to cancel Saturday’s relay that should have taken place in a mountain area. The torch will continue on its way to Turin on Sunday, covering the distance between Bergamo and Milan.
