Japanese can buy Olympic tickets via lottery system

TOKYO: Residents of Japan will be able to apply for tickets for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games from May 9, the organising committee said yesterday.

Residents will be able to apply through the lottery system, which runs from May 9-28, before finding out if their application is successful on June 20.

People living outside of Japan will not be able to apply through the system but will instead have to buy tickets through countryspecific Authorised Ticket Resellers (ATRs).

The distribution system varies from country to country but international sales cannot start until June 15. Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) has been allocated a certain number of tickets to be sold through their approved ATR.

Between 70-80 percent of all tickets have been reserved for domestic sales, with the remainder allocated to international customers and sponsors.

Tokyo’s bid for the Olympics said 7.8 million tickets would be available for the Games but organisers refused to confirm how many were for sale during the initial offering.

Organisers announced domestic ticket prices last year, with rates ranging from less than US$19 (RM79) for some group tickets up to US$2,680, the top rate for a place at the opening ceremony.

The cheapest individual tickets will go on sale for 2,500 yen and, as in previous Games, athletics is the most expensive event with the highest priced tickets set at 130,000 yen.

This marks only the first wave of ticket sales for the summer showpiece, which begins on July 24, 2020.