After the previous two Covid-affected seasons and doping-marred Winter Games, the Games are back and look to herald a new era. Call it a breath of fresh air for athletes and enthusiasts anticipating the French creative flare at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony. About 600,000 fans will line the four-mile route to cheer for around 10,000 athletes who will participate in the Olympics, amid great pomp, mirth and gaiety.

As the big day approaches, the grandeur that the venue is selling has made the conflict visible from both sides. Organizers have earmarked these heavy prices in order to make it “audacious and accessible” for the masses, as seen by the increase in ticket sales. Audacious? Sure, but accessible might seem like a stretch. Is this the grand Francophile welcome we oh so deserve, or is it exorbitant for no rhyme or reason? There’s more to unpack here.

Paris Olympics 2024: to appear or not to appear? Is this capitalism at its finest?

The price of tickets to the most sought-after sporting events, together with the cost of lodging and transportation, has skyrocketed significantly. Six months before the Olympic torch shines this summer, of the 100,000 tickets, most of the front-row seats at the celebration are almost completely sold out. New York Times reported that the ones that are still available cost an astounding $2,930 each.

Further, popular Olympic events like men’s 10-meter platform diving tickets start at $953.05. While the annual crowd-pleaser—women’s artistic gymnastics finals are estimated to be worth $1,956. Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, is not happy with the ticket costs. Coe also made an adversely stark contrast between the pricing and those of the London Olympics in 2012, which he planned.

Meanwhile, the president of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, Tony Estanguet, told The Guardian that “it is our duty to be really ambitious,” even though it is not the simplest way to deliver the Games.“One billion people will watch the ceremony,” he continued. Now, consider yourself fortunate if you have already obtained tickets at a reasonable price. From the official Paris 2024 ticketing website’s launch about a year ago, sales have reached approximately seven million! But if you’re on the run to catch the late ticket, there are some more things you need to know about.

Paris is brilliant yet compact, which begets the question about high ticket prices

Hoteliers are capitalizing on the excess demand since there are over 15 million expected tourists and only about 85,000 guest rooms. The normal summer prices for many hotels and rental flats have increased by two, three, or even five times. Air travel costs are rapidly increasing while the Paris Metro ticket will soon cost twice as much. Even the tourist attractions’ entrance costs of the Palace of Versailles and the Louvre Museum have increased.

READ MORE Is Olympics 2024 Pushing Paris to Announce Unreasonable Increase in Prices?–Discussed

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