2023-06-17 11:24:00
Paris (CNN) The date has been set. The venue has been selected and ticket sales have started.
100 years following the city was last in Olympic mood, the world’s biggest sporting event will return to Paris next year.
The organizers and the French government have touted the most inclusive Games ever, but many people are not convinced.
The primary concern is accessibility. Financially, the high ticket prices and the dilapidated Paris transport infrastructure are a source of pain for people with disabilities.
Olympic tickets out of reach
Flavien Lallmann managed to reach the Paris 2024 ticketing website, but ultimately decided it was a waste of money.
The 23-year-old developer told CNN of the ticket prices on sale, “It’s just crazy, it’s just crazy.”
“It’s a pity. It’s happening in our city, just a stone’s throw away, but it’s going to be full of tourists. It’s going to affect us, but it won’t be a positive one,” Lallman said. said, adding that he would end up watching TV at home.
The Olympics are the biggest sporting event in the world./Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Many French people have taken to social media to lash out at ticket prices, complaining that they are far above the average budget.
For the organizing committee of the tournament, which boasts that it will be a fully accessible tournament, it is a shameful uproar.
“Paris 2024 will be the first Games to focus on solidarity and inclusion,” boasts the official website.
The cheapest ticket for the Olympics is 24 euros (regarding 3700 yen) and 15 euros for the Paralympics. But cheaper tickets are sold in limited numbers and are for competitions such as basketball and soccer held in cities other than Paris. Affordable tickets were in short supply when hordes of sports fans managed to buy tickets.
Unlike past competitions, the Paris Games introduced a “set sale” system. To have a chance to purchase tickets, members of the public were first required to register for the lottery. After sales began, citizens selected by lottery had to purchase tickets for at least three events within 48 hours, and book an equal number of tickets for each event.
French track and field athlete Jimmy Grecier.complain that ticket prices are exorbitant
For those who are satisfied with just one sport, it can cost three times as much as the original budget. However, the tournament organizing committee has promised that unnecessary tickets can be resold from next spring.
“I’m fed up with that price.” Marine Debove, a European gymnastics medalist and Olympic entrant, said of the €690 ticket price for the gymnastics final.
“In this country, it may be easier to compete in the Olympics as a player than as a spectator,” he wrote on Facebook, echoing current athletes who were angry regarding not being able to secure tickets for their families.
French 5,000m runner Jimmy Grecier posted on social media that inviting 10 relatives to the race would cost him between €6,000 and €7,000, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.
He added that ticket prices were “outrageous” for “a sport that is basically affordable and easy for everyone and doesn’t have big stars.”
“I understand the situation. I’m sorry to disappoint you.” Paris 2024 Organizing Committee President Toni Estanguet told CNN affiliate BFMTV-RMC Sports in March, adding that each ticket will be available for individual purchase in the secondary sale in May.
“We are aware that demand is far outstripping supply,” Estangue added of the ticket.
Of the roughly 10 million tickets sold, around 10% are priced at 24 euros and only half are below 50 euros. The organizers of the Games say that it is not as expensive as the 2012 London Olympics.
Unlike previous Games, the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics will be held along the Seine River, which cuts through the city, offering an unprecedented (and almost free) way to witness the opening of the Games.
However, there is a fee for the riverside bleachers where you can see the water parade from the best position. Some seats are priced at €2,700.
Hurdles before going to the venue
The Organizing Committee of the Paris 2024 Games says that inclusion is the key to the operation of the Games, and boasts that the Paralympic Games, which will be held in September next year, will be the “most accessible” Games in history, positioning them as the flagship of accessibility. One of the official mascots — a pair of grinning Phrygian caps — wears prosthetic legs, the first ever for an official mascot, according to the Games Organizing Committee.
2024 Paralympic mascot wears prosthetic leg for first time
When Estangue announced the official mascot last November, he said, “Having a mascot with a visible disability sends a powerful message.” rice field.
However, visitors with disabilities cannot feel relieved. There are almost no means of transportation available for people with disabilities to get around the city.
Built more than a century ago, the Paris Metro system is notoriously inconvenient for passengers with disabilities, with many stairs and no lifts.
French President Emmanuel Macron pledged in April that the government would spend 1.5 billion euros to improve accessibility in France, making the Games “100% accessible” for people with restricted mobility. bottom.
Disability rights activist Stéphane Lenoir said he was “pretty worried” regarding disabled access in Paris during the Games. This is because there is only one route that meets the needs of people with disabilities, and that is “Sparrow’s Tears.”
Of the subways currently running in Paris, only line 14 is completely step-free. It is estimated that only 10% of Paris’ 332 stations will be wheelchair-accessible by the start of the season.
In London, by contrast, the London Underground network, known as the “Tube”, is much deeper than Paris and is the oldest in the world, yet regarding a quarter of its stations will be step-free before the 2012 opening. turned into The same is true in Tokyo, where the Games were postponed and held in 2021. By 2020, more than 95% of subway stations were step-free.
Only one line of the Paris metro is completely step-free./Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images
Tournament organizers have promised shuttle buses between Paris’ main train stations and competition venues, but Renoir said there was a lack of information regarding bus usage and capacities. In particular, there is a lack of information for families accompanying persons with disabilities who have purchased tickets.
Nicolas Méril of the French disability rights group APF France Handicap said the problem was due to the French attitude towards accessibility in general.
Disabled people are “recognized as a social and medical problem and not considered citizens,” he said.
“Moving in a wheelchair is always tricky. There is absolutely no guarantee that you will be able to move without trouble.” (Mr. Merrill)
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