Organisers of the Paris Paralympics this week launched an advertising campaign to boost sales for the Games given that only 300,000 tickets have been purchased so far by members of the public.
One hundred days before the start of the event, around 900,000 tickets – a third of the total – have been sold.
Figures from the organising committee (Cojo) show that some 600,000 of those were purchased by French public sector organisations and the Olympic and Paralympic committees.
The sales data has barely changed since the beginning of the year, even though seats are priced at as little as €15 – including at the most prestigious locations around the French capital.
"We want to say to everyone, French people first: it's time to mobilise around the Paralympics," said Julie Mathikine, brand director for Paris 2024.
"It's a shock advertising campaign, to create a reaction, to make people understand and realise."
Il ne leur manque rien, sauf vous !
— Paris 2024 (@Paris2024) May 20, 2024
RDV dans les tribunes pendant les Jeux Paralympiques pour supporter ces champions aux performances extraordinaires 🏟️
Il reste des places à partir de 15€, RDV sur https://t.co/69KhSVvvHI pour prendre la vôtre 🎟️#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/4swxq2KIWG
Personalising the Games
The billboard and online campaign will feature several leading French Paralympic athletes with the tag line: "We aren't missing anything, only you."
Michael Aloisio, Paris 2024 deputy director general, acknowledged "that French people don't know our Paralympic athletes. We need to speak about them, to personalise the event".
But he and others stressed that Paris 2024 was no different from the London Games in 2012, where around 40 percent of Paralympic ticket sales occurred after the end of the Olympics.
Although ticket sales might be low, organisers have sold the broadcasting rights for the 22-sport Paralympics to a record 160 nations and territories.
Some of the best-known Paralympians are set to appear in Paris including quadruple amputee Bebe Vio, an Italian fencer, American "armless archer" Matt Stutzman and "blade jumper" Markus Rehm.
The sporting events will take place at the same stadiums that will be used during the Olympics, including temporary venues at the Eiffel Tower, Invalides, the Grand Palais and Versailles Palace.
Organisers of the 2024 Paris Games are promoting a new, lower impact model for the Olympics, with only two new sports venues and the athletes' village built from scratch.
The Paris Paralympics will run from 28 August to 8 September.
(with AFP)
