Ticket prices for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be priced from $175 to $1,100 and will go on sale on October 11, 2008, the Vancouver Organizing Committee announced Thursday, when approximately 1.6 million tickets for the ceremonies and the various competitions become available.
In a release Dave Cobb, VANOC executive vice president of revenue, marketing and communication said, “the 2010 Winter Games are a global event and demand for tickets will be strong across Canada and around the world”.
Half of all the tickets will be priced at $100 or less, while 100,000 will cost $25.
The $175 to $1,100 range for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be lower than that of the ceremony tickets at the Turin 2006 and Salt Lake 2002 Winter Games, said VANOC.
Organizers said they want to make sure seats are not left empty, as at the Turin Games.
Caley Denton, VANOC vice president of ticketing and consumer marketing said, “we’re doing everything possible to ensure that tickets are used, including working to develop an online ticket buy-and-sell exchange program that allows spectators with tickets who cannot attend an event to quickly exchange their tickets with other spectators who can”.
The men’s gold-medal hockey tickets will start at $350, while half of all seats will cost $100 or less.
John Furlong, VANOC chief executive officer said, “attending the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and sharing gold medal moments with Canadian athletes and international competitors will be unforgettable”.
VANOC promised the ticket buying process will be simple and user-friendly. It plans to roll it out in phases and will, in some cases, include lotteries to distribute tickets to Olympic events where the demand for tickets exceeds the supply.
About 30 per cent of the tickets will be held for athletes and their families, National Olympic Committees and international sport federations, media and broadcasters and VANOC sponsors.
VANOC intends to purchase and distribute 50,000 tickets to Olympic and Paralympic events to those who would not otherwise have the means to be able to attend. Organizers said a process for allocations of these tickets will be developed in consultation with community groups and social agencies.
Updates about tickets sales can be found on the Vancouver 2010 official website.
