TOKYO—Overwhelmed by unprecedented demand, Tokyo Olympic organizers said Thursday they hope to run another ticket lottery next month for residents of Japan who got nothing the first time.
Millions of Japanese were let down last month when they came away empty-handed in a lottery for next year’s Olympics.
The bad news is that—despite a last-minute change of plans—most applicants will be disappointed again.
There simply aren’t enough Olympic tickets to go around with demand soaring in Japan and elsewhere as Authorized Ticket Resellers—the Olympic agents contracted to sell tickets outside Japan—have also opened sales worldwide.
“The demand from the general public indeed exceeded our expectations,” Tokyo Spokesman Masa Takaya told The Associated Press. He said organizers were “absolutely pleased” by the interest.
Takaya said another lottery—open to all Japan residents—would be held by the end of the year as organizers rejigger their plans.
Greg Harney is the senior adviser for Cartan Global, the authorized reseller for much of Latin America and the Caribbean. He’s attending his 19th Olympics, and this is a first.
“I’ve never, never seen interest in attending the Olympics like we have in Tokyo,” Harney told the AP.
Takaya did not say how many tickets had been purchased in Japan so far. He said he would give the number on Friday.
Organizers say there are about 7.8 million tickets for all events. However, an estimate from one previous Olympics suggests that up to 25 percent of these are off the table immediately, going to sponsors, international federations, 200 national Olympic committees, dignitaries and so forth. In addition, Tokyo says between 20 percent and 30 percent are set aside for foreign buyers.
An informal estimate by the AP suggests there may be 4 million to 5 million tickets for Japan residents. And that’s probably generous.
Organizers said last month that 7.5 million residents of Japan registered to apply for tickets in the lottery. If each applied for only six tickets—and that seems low—demand would be 10 times oversupply.
“This is probably going to be the most popular Olympics, and possibly one of the most popular events of all time,” Ken Hanscom, the chief operating officer of TicketManager, told the AP in an interview.
His Los Angeles-based company does not buy or sell Olympic tickets, but manages tickets for corporate clients.
Alexander Dmitrenko, a Canadian lawyer with residency in Japan, said he applied for 24 tickets—and got two. And was thrilled.
“I’m lucky. I’m going,” he said.
CoSport, an Authorized Ticket Reseller that handles sales for the United States and other countries, has delayed its ticket allocations and acknowledged a shortage in an e-mail to customers.
“Thank you for your record-breaking interest in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which necessitated delayed processing time to help ensure stable and open access to limited national ticket allocations.”
The demand is sure to drive scalping.
Japan passed a law last month that prohibits ticket scalping with the penalty of a ¥1-million ($9,100) fine and a one-year jail term—or both.
However, the law has large loopholes and does not apply to tickets distributed for free or given away as gifts, or tickets without a purchaser’s name. This applies to many tickets coming from the IOC, the 200 national Olympic committees or major Olympic sponsors.
Japanese organizers have lined up more than 60 local sponsors who kicked in over $3 billion to the local operating budget. In addition, three famous Japanese companies are major, longtime Olympics sponsors: Panasonic, Toyota and Bridgestone.
The organizing committee hopes to raise about $800 million from ticket sales, a large chunk of its operating budget. AP
Image credits: AP