Paris city hall started distributing 55,000 free tickets for the Olympic Games opening ceremony on 26 July.
Pierre Rabadan, Deputy Mayor of Paris responsible for sports and the Olympics, announced the first wave of invitations at a press conference. Each recipient will receive another email in 13 days providing them with the opportunity to claim up to four tickets, to which they must respond within four days.
The first access codes for the event will be sent out on 10 June, Rabadan continued, warning that oversubscription stands at 30%. Once duplicate requests and cancellations are analysed, a second wave of access codes will be sent out, followed by a third in early July.
The target audience for the free tickets includes families from underprivileged areas with the lowest incomes, young people, sports movements and people helping to organise the Olympics, including city workers and traders.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced in March that 326,000 spectators, 222,000 of whom will have free tickets, can attend the riverside parade kicking off the games.
Emmanuel Grégoire, First Deputy Mayor of Paris, explained that the ceremony will take place over a six-kilometre route, divided into 15 zones for spectators. Entry to these zones, which will provide food, drink and shade, will be between 3:30pm and 6:30pm, in time for the 7:30pm start.
In line with President Macron’s decision not to move the booksellers along the river’s edge, local officials point out that the audience capacity is reduced by around 80,000 seats.
