TOKYO, Nov 8, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo Olympics organisers said Friday they
will put around a million more tickets for the 2020 Games on sale this month,
with seats up for grabs at the boxing for the first time.
But tickets for the Olympic marathon, which is controversially being
shifted from Tokyo to the northern city of Sapporo over heat fears, will not
be on offer.
The second online lottery, restricted to residents of Japan, will run from
November 13 to 26 and will be the last time tickets are offered exclusively
for residents of the host nation.
Additional rounds of sales will begin in the spring.
The lottery will for the first time include tickets for boxing, which came
close to being excluded from the Games after its governing body was suspended
from organising the sport’s competition at the Olympics. Tickets will not be
available however for the marathon as organisers work out how to handle
ticketing after shifting the race to Sapporo.
Some tickets for the event were sold before the move was announced, and
organisers are also mulling how to handle compensation.
Officials said they were concerned about an apparent slowing in enthusiasm
for tickets after an initial surge in applications during the first round.
Masaaki Komiya, a vice director-general with the organising committee, said
he was worried some “distance” might be developing between locals and the
Games.
“Just before this (second lottery), the move of the marathon competition
arose,” Komiya said. “I realise various opinions are being expressed. But our
resolve to deliver exciting Games remains unchanged,” he said.
The IOC’s decision to move the marathon, as well as the race-walking event,
sparked anger in Tokyo, with the governor citing public disappointment in her
staunch opposition to the decision.
Officials did not offer details on any new security measures for the new
lottery round, despite having had to invalidate nearly 7,000 tickets from the
first round after discovering they were purchased with fraudulent identities
through an online lottery.