Tokyo 2020 To Add Another Ticket Lottery Due To High Demand

When Tokyo 2020 tickets went on sale last month, many Japan residents were unable to snag tickets to the Olympics event. Now, organizers are hoping to hold another ticket lottery next month to meet demand.

The demand for the 2020 Olympics is high, with a reported 35 million people within the Greater Tokyo area vying for tickets; which is a very different outcome from 2012’s games in Rio de Janeiro where tickets were given away or left unsold.

A Tokyo spokesman, Masa Takaya, told The Associated Press that “the demand from the general public indeed exceeded our expectations,” and organizers were “absolutely pleased” by the interest. Additionally, the senior adviser for Carton Global, an authorized reseller for Latin America and the Caribbean, said that he has “never, never seen interest in attending the Olympics like we have in Tokyo.”

Already, 7.5 million Japan residents applied for tickets in the lottery, and an estimate from AP shows that there may be 4 to 5 million tickets set aside for residents.

Now, another lottery, which will be open to all Japan residents, will be held later this year. This lottery is expected to release hundreds of thousands of tickets. While additional information has not been announced at this time regarding the format for this phase of the lottery, only those who were unable to receive tickets during the first phase will be eligible. The window will close by August 22 when applications for the Paralympics begin.

Additionally, the Authorized Ticket Reseller in other countries including the United States, CoSport, acknowledged that there is a ticket shortage and has delayed its ticket allocations. While the high demand may cause attendees to look for tickets being scalped, Japan passed a law earlier this year that prohibits ticket scalping. Those caught selling tickets can face a fine of 1 million yen ($9,100) or a one-year jail sentence.

The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games will take place from July 24 to August 9 next year. Ticket prices and venues were announced last summer.