Coe fears Paris tickets too pricey for athletes' families

PARIS — World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said on Monday that tickets for the Paris Olympics are "expensive" and pleaded for the families of athletes to be given priority by organizers.

Coe, who was chief organizer of the 2012 London Olympics, said in a conference call that he was concerned athletes' families could miss out on the greatest moment of their careers at next year's Games.

"It is my responsibility to make sure our sport is delivered in as good an environment as possible and that the French organizing committee does everything it can to fill those stadiums even though the ticket prices are, as we know, expensive," Coe said.

"We have to accept for all sorts of reasons that Paris will be the most expensive Games both for the international federations but also for the fans.

"Our concern will always be that we want fans in the stadiums watching the events that are at affordable prices and that allow us to grow our sport, and particularly when it comes to the athletes themselves and their families," he added.

"It think it is important that families are considered when those athletes, in whichever sport, get to major championships.

"It is what we have always tried to do as best as possible in World Athletics."

The most expensive tickets currently available for the athletics sessions at the Olympics are priced at 980 euros ($1,070), though tickets for other sessions are available for 90 euros.

Coe said organizers faced a complex balancing act to ensure that the Olympics, which start on July 26 and end on Aug 11, were safe but not conducted in a security "lockdown".

"I want the Games to be successful, and as somebody who has delivered an Olympic Games I am critically aware that it is a very complex piece of project management that demands the collective work of a whole range of stakeholders, including government agencies and intelligence services. It is complicated," said the double Olympic gold medalist.

The Olympics will be sandwiched between three editions of the world championships (2022,2023 and 2025) and Coe said his sport was in a great place after a "stupendous" year.

"I can't remember a season that has delivered more high-quality performances across a broader bandwidth of disciplines," he said. "I think Budapest was the best world championships we've ever had and there were seven world records in an outstanding season."

However, he again addressed the need to keep his sport relevant to the next generation of fans, pointing to the upcoming Netflix documentary series that followed the leading contenders in the men's and women's 100 meters this year.

Agencies