The 2016 Summer Olympic Games are just under four months away from beginning in Rio, and while political turbulence has threatened to disrupt the quadrennial event’s first-ever stay on South American soil, ticket sales across the three-week affair have stumbled in the process.
Brazil’s political and social unrest – from the impending impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff to the Zika virus outbreak – has played a vital role in the lack of ticket demand, though the Summer Games have a very thin chance of relocating despite the country’s waning state of affairs. There appears to be a cautious optimism surrounding the poor ticket sales thus far, however, and excitement is gradually building as the games inch closer to their August 5 start date.
According to international reseller Ticketbis, there has been a strong international demand for Rio 2016 basketball tickets on the resale market despite slow overall primary sales. Those secondary market sales have come predominantly from the neighboring country of Argentina, where 72% of international sales derive from.
No other country comes close to that number, with Chile making up the second highest percentage of international basketball sales at 13%. Other countries with sales for Summer Olympic tickets include Taiwan (2.8%) and Mexico (1.5%). The United States accounts for 2.5% of global sales for the Summer Olympics thus far, though that number will likely pick up as qualifying participants and teams are announced.
That will likely be the case once the United States Men’s Basketball roster is officially revealed in June. Ticketbis reports that basketball events make up 12.6% of Olympic ticket sales on the secondary market, and with the United States boasting the most versatile and talent-packed roster in the world, there will most certainly be a heightened demand to see the country compete for its record 15th gold medal in August.
For fans interested in taking in a basketball game during the 2016 Summer Olympics, Ticketbis lists the average ticket price for an Olympic basketball game at a lofty $359. But with players like Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard all expected to make the cut should they participate, it’s unsurprising that such strong ticket demand exists. That average price will likely increase as the United States plays through the competition as well, so those planning to attend an upcoming game should buy their tickets before that number grows higher.
While basketball carves out a fair share of resale ticket sales, athletic events make up the highest number of Olympic sales thus far. Featuring track and field events, athletics account for 19.4% of secondary market Olympic sales on Ticketbis. Like that of basketball, that number will expectedly rise once the athletics qualification period ends in July.
Brazil’s sociopolitical struggles won’t be remedied overnight, nor will there be a much brighter national outlook once the Olympics take up shop in Rio, but the games will undoubtedly provide a beacon of hope for a country waging an internal battle politically, financially and epidemically. And though ticket sales have shown more fear than interest in the Olympics through April, there is hope that increasing international appeal, however slowly, will make the global affair a proud, iconic event in South America this summer.
