The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games has seen a record number of 390,000 participate in the event’s first lottery for residents of Japan.
The demand is more than three times that of the initial offering of tickets for the London 2012 Paralympic Games of 116,000 applicants.
Andrew Parsons, IPC president, said: “The demand for tickets experienced during the first Tokyo 2020 Paralympic ticket lottery is unprecedented and like nothing we have seen before in Paralympic Games history.
“London 2012 set the benchmark high with 116,000 applicants in their first ticketing window back in 2011, but the Japanese public have completely blown this figure out of the water with around 390,000 applicants.
“This is further proof that the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are on course to be the best and most exciting yet. The key now is to sustain this demand until all tickets for the Games are sold.”
The Tokyo Paralympics are projected to feature a record 4,400 athletes, with the Games including the new disciplines of badminton and taekwondo.
The Opening Ceremony on August 25, 2020 at the newly built Olympic Stadium will kick off 12 days of sport which will feature 540 medal events.
Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto said: “More than 390,000 Japan residents applied for tickets in the first lottery of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics – this was a great start. I am glad that people in Japan have such high expectations for the Paralympic Games and are showing such interest in them.
“We look forward to everyone cheering on the athletes from all over the world and helping to bring out many personal best performances at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.”
With the first Paralympic Ticket lottery now fully closed, Tokyo 2020 announced that around 160,000 people have been allocated tickets in the first phase of the ticket lottery, and about 600,000 tickets have already been purchased.
Image: Australian Paralympic Committee
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