Organizers for the '18 PyeongChang Games today admitted that ticket sales "have gone far worse than hoped ... with barely a quarter of the first-phase target taken up," according to the AFP. A POCOG official said that they had "aimed to sell 600,000 tickets." However, applications for only about 380,000 "were received, and were concentrated on sports that South Korea typically excels in, such as speed skating and figure skating." Less popular disciplines such as cross country skiing and biathlon "saw orders" for fewer than 10% of available places. In total, only 162,000 tickets were "allocated in the distribution Monday -- 27 percent of the 600,000 target." The poor figure comes amid "ongoing concerns about sales, with little evidence of a buzz building up around the Games" (AFP, 5/8).
VENUES IN GOOD SHAPE: San Diego-based KNSD-NBC's Steven Luke reported there are "no concerns about the actual competition venues" set to be used during the PyeongChang Games, as the 12 "stadiums and arenas, hosting everything from figure skating to ski jumping, are estimated" at 97% complete. POCOG officials "made sure the venues were ready well ahead of time." That contrasts the '14 Sochi Games, when workers "rushed to complete construction in the days prior to the opening ceremony, or the Summer Olympics in Rio, where some of the work never got finished at all" (NBCSANDIEGO.com, 5/7).
