Ticket sales for 8 Asian Games events fail to reach 60%
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games organizers said Friday ticket sales are below 60 percent for eight sports, including baseball, football, and hockey, as well as for the closing ceremony, Kyodo reported.
While the organizers released the data on ticket sales as of Thursday, they have not disclosed how many seats are being made available at each venue.
By contrast, more than 90 percent of tickets have been sold for 13 sports such as badminton and fencing, while more than 80 percent have been sold for seven sports including basketball, artistic gymnastics and volleyball, the organizers said.
A number of events have seen empty seats at the ongoing games despite some listed as "sold out" for general sales. The main reason is believed to be invitational tickets and those sold to companies not actually being used.
The opening ceremony held last Saturday at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium was far from packed and it was a similar story on Thursday when track-and-field events kicked off at the venue.
Earlier, it was reported that Polina Ivanova of Kazakhstan claimed bronze in the pole vault at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, clearing 4.15 meters.
