The 2024 Olympic Games will take place from July 26 to August 11 with the 2024 Paralympic Games following, from August 28 to September 8.
Paris is the host city and the Games promise to be a new vision of the concept of the Olympics, delivered in the spirit of international celebration in the City of Light, sans pandemic woes.
The sporting celebration will flow along different venues on the Seine, from the new Olympic Village, just 15 minutes from Paris city centre, to such city-centre landmarks as the Eiffel Tower and the Grand Palais.
There’s a new twist to these Olympics.
This is the first time ever that ticket sales will be sold online only and available worldwide. All tickets at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be sold on the event's official ticket platform, using a ballot system.
The 2024 Games organisers have announced an official hospitality partner called ‘On Location’. This is the only platform, other than the official Olympic ticket platform, authorised to sell tickets, which are bundled into packages with hotels, transport and exclusive experiences around the city.
Pure-Travel, a division of Tourvest, is the Official Sub-Distributor of On Location packages for Paris 2024 Hospitality Products for South African travellers.
Travel News spoke to Illana Pereira, Chief Operating Officer of Sports and Leisure at Pure-Travel to find out how tickets and packages will be available for South African fans to attend the Games in Paris.
Says Pereira: “Big sporting events appeal to travellers and this is especially true post-COVID, as we find that people are eager to attend these events after a prolonged period of restricted social activities and entertainment options. Our services are in high demand, with both the general public and with travel agents – as well as the corporate market – all seeking our assistance for sports travel arrangements. With the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games, we are confident that it will be a phenomenal event and we look forward to being a part of it.”
General access tickets for individuals to various Olympic events can only be purchased through a ballot system that can be accessed on the Paris 2024 website https://tickets.paris2024.org/en/
How will the ballot system work for individuals to buy tickets to different events?
The website says: “The ballot system works by allowing people to enter a lottery for a chance to purchase tickets (to particular events at) the Olympic Games. Interested individuals will typically register their interest in the event well in advance…and their names will be entered into a random draw. If their name is selected in the ballot, they will then be given the opportunity to purchase tickets to the event.
“The exact process for the ballot system can vary, however the goal is always the same: to allocate tickets in a fair and impartial manner, giving as many people as possible a chance to attend the most popular events. This is, however, only for individual purchases and not for groups – group requests will need to be done through the Sub-Distributor.”
Will corporates or groups of fans be able to buy hospitality packages?
The website has the following information: “To purchase hospitality packages, guests can contact the appointed Sub-Distributor in their respective territories. It's important to note that each territory or country has a Sub-Distributor appointed by Paris 2024, and this is the ONLY official source for hospitality tickets for the Olympic Games. For South Africa, Pure-Travel, a division of Tourvest Destination Management, has been appointed the official hospitality Sub-Distributor for Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”
Pereira says: “If buying hospitality packages outside the official channels, buyers run the risk that tickets or packages are not delivered to them, or access will be denied by the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, in accordance with their terms and conditions. In addition, all tickets will be digital and can only be accessed via the official Paris 2024 mobile app.”
A total of 10 million tickets will be available for the Games. Single tickets will go on sale from May 11 and general ticket sales will open later in 2023.
One million tickets will be priced from €24 (R487) and will be available across all Olympic sports disciplines, and almost half of the tickets available to the general public will be priced at €50 (R1 014) or less.
“We will partner with the entire Olympic family to demonstrate that, more than ever after an extremely challenging period, sport has a unique power to help create a better world,” says the official website.
