Rio 2016 Olympic organizers announce ‘affordable’ tickets

RIO DE JANEIRO — Almost half of all tickets for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will be sold for $30 or less in a bid to make the Games “as affordable as possible,” the organising committee said on Tuesday.

The most expensive tickets, however, will still be out of range for the majority of local fans with prices for the opening ceremony as high as 4,600 reais ($1,977).

The priciest sporting events, such as the athletics finals, will be 1,200 reais. This is substantially below the price of the 100 metre final at London 2012 - which cost more than twice as much.

The organising committee said it was committed to “allow access to the games for the largest possible number of fans,” in a video presentation on the Rio 2016 website.

Of the 7.5 million tickets that will be sold, 3.8 million will cost 70 reais or less. The cheapest ticket will be priced at 40 Brazilian reais (less than $20).

Fans looking to buy tickets can register on the Rio 2016 sales website from November.

Applications for the first phase of ticket sales will then open between March and May 2015, with a second phase planned for July 2015.

Only those who entered in the first draw will be able to participate in the second, with those who were unsuccessful getting priority.