POCOG was offering volunteers and staff unsold tickets for today’s curling and ski jumping eventsGETTY IMAGES
The total number of fans attending the Pyeongchang Games "remains a question," as 78% of targeted ticket sales have "been achieved” as of yesterday, according to Scott Reid of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. POCOG late last month confirmed that 655,000 out of 1.07 million "total tickets have been sold" -- or 61%. For some "normally hot ticket events" like figure skating or men’s hockey, less than 60% of "available tickets have been sold." Sales have been "hurt by safety concerns amid the hostilities between North Korea and the White House," and in the case of hockey, the NHL’s decision to "prohibit its players from participating in South Korea." The weather "hasn’t helped either." The stadium security scanners "froze up during an opening ceremony dress rehearsal this week as did stadium credit card machines which probably didn’t please Visa, one of the IOC’s top sponsors" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 2/8). In Minneapolis, Rachel Blount notes the crowd for the first competition of the Games -- this morning's opening session of mixed doubles curling -- "started out a bit sparse, then steadily filled in with South Koreans wearing tiny flags on their heads like antennae" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 2/8).
FILLING THE STANDS: The AP noted POCOG was "offering volunteers and staff unsold tickets" for today’s curling and ski jumping events. POCOG Manager Ji Young Lee said that 94% of tickets for today’s curling events "have already been sold." She added that the "offer of free tickets gives volunteers who are normally working a chance to experience the Olympics in a different way" (AP, 2/7). In South Korea, Bak Se-hwan writes offering volunteers free tickets "appears to be a move to fill stadiums amid worries of low turnout due to the frigid weather." An internal notice POCOG sent to volunteers states that the "free tickets are primarily for 'helping to fill the stadium to capacity' for the upcoming games and 'creating a positive environment for a successful event.'" It added that the "free ticket policy 'should not go public'" (KOREA HERALD, 2/8).
SKIPPING THE GAMES: CNN MONEY's Alanna Petroff noted high travel costs and a shortage of hotel rooms have "put Americans off attending" the Games. Tensions with North Korea "haven't helped, either." Specialist travel company Sports Traveler Founder Anbritt Stengele said, "Our travel sales to this Olympics have been very light." Pyeongchang is "not a model tourist destination." It is a "two-hour train journey from the South Korean capital, Seoul" (MONEY.CNN.com, 2/7).
