Milan Cortina tickets seen in demand despite prices

MILAN – Fans from around the world had the opportunity to secure their places at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on April 8 when general ticket sales resumed, with demand seen as high despite the cost involved.

The Olympics will run from Feb 6 to 22, with the Paralympics to follow in March. The Games will be co-hosted by Milan and the Alpine town of Cortina d’Ampezzo.

The lowest ticket price will be €30 (S$44.30),while 57 per cent of tickets will be sold at prices of up to €100, the organisers said. For the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, over 50 per cent of tickets were sold for €50 or less.

Prices climb to €1,400 – for the men’s ice hockey final – the most expensive sporting event of the Games – and up to €1,200 for the figure skating gala.

In Paris, the most expensive tickets, which were for the men’s basketball final and some athletics sessions, including the one featuring the men’s 100 metres, were priced at €980.

Rising ticket prices for major events are a common complaint among sports fans.

The closing ceremony, to be held in the city of Verona, will be the most expensive event of the Winter Games, with prices ranging from €950 to €2,900. Tickets for the opening ceremony in Milan will range from €260 to €2,026.

However, the cost has not dampened enthusiasm so far.

The success of the first phase of sales in early February, when limited numbers of tickets were available, led the organisers to add a second sales window in late February.

“Purchasing tickets was a smooth and easy process,” Ed Schneider Jr, who lives in New York state and bought tickets in the early window, told Reuters.

“However, the prices I encountered for the figure skating and short-track