The president of the International Athletics Federation, Sebastian Coe, regretted on Monday the “high” price of tickets for the public during the Paris-2024 Olympics. “It is my responsibility to ensure that our sport takes place in as good an environment as possible, that the French organizing committee does everything it can to fill the stadiums, even if the ticket prices are, as we know, high,” he said during an end-of-year conference call with news organizations.

More than 7.6 million tickets have already been put on sale for the Paris Games. Some are offered at a minimum price of 24 euros, but others, particularly for athletics competitions, cost up to 690 euros.

“Our concern will always be to have supporters in the stadiums to watch events at affordable prices which allow us to develop our sport,” underlined Sebastian Coe. He pointed out in particular the need to “take into consideration” the families of athletes, who will travel to encourage their loved ones.

The former Olympic champion, who was at the head of the organization of the London Games in 2012, wished “good luck” to Tony Estanguet, the president of the French organizing committee, and his collaborators, hoping “that the Games take place in complete safety and not in an atmosphere of confinement.

France is preparing to host the Olympic Games in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024, an extraordinary event in terms of organization made even more complex due to the international context of the wars in Ukraine and between Israel and Hamas.