Winter Olympics ticket sales suffer

SEOUL, 6 September 2017: Online ticket sales for next year’s Winter Olympics opened in South Korea, Tuesday, with organisers admitting far fewer places had so far been sold than previously implied and concerns growing over North Korea’s nuclear antics.

The 2018 Pyeongchang Games will take place in a country with a limited winter sports tradition and far from the core markets of Europe and North America — making local attendance crucial to ensuring the grandstands are full.

But in the first phase of South Korean sales earlier this year, organisers offered 162,000 tickets in an application lottery — just over a quarter of their 600,000 target. Read more

Japan thinks ahead on Olympic congestion

TOKYO, 25 April 2017: Japanese commuters will be encouraged to work from home for one day in a nationwide exercise for the 2020 Olympics that authorities hope will ease congestion on roads and public transport.

Tokyo has declared 24 July — exactly three years before the opening  ceremony of the summer games — as “Telework Day” and wants firms and government departments to let employees work remotely.

London introduced a similar measure during the 2012 Olympics with 80% of businesses in the city participating, according to Japan’s Internal Affairs Ministry, which announced the plan on Tuesday. Read more

Travel to Japan booms

TOKYO, 24 February 2017: The Japan National Tourism Organisation reports visitors to Japan reached 24.04 million during 2016.

This represents the largest on record since JNTO started to keep statistics in 1964.

Over the last three years, visits have grown 2.4 times. Read more

Rio’s Olympics set to shine

RIO DE JANEIRO, 8 February 2016: Olympic construction projects have turned Rio upside down, but a harsh economy and some major failures are overshadowing organisers’ hopes of emulating Barcelona’s Olympian transformation back in 1992.

Rio sees its choice as South America’s first Olympic host city as a chance to shine.

Some improvements are highly visible, such as stadiums, a tramway through a central avenue, and major transport projects including a dedicated express bus lane system and extension of the metro. Read more

Play offs for winter Olympic venue

KUALA LUMPUR, 28 July 2015: Beijing and Almaty on Monday embarked on a frantic final lobbying campaign for the 2022 Winter Olympics ahead of a decision this week on the winner.

High level delegations from China and Kazakhstan are in Kuala Lumpur where the International Olympic Committee will hold a secret ballot on Friday to decide between the two rivals.

The Games are guaranteed to go to Asia for the second time in a row after 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

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Airbnb wins deal for Olympics

RIO DE JANERIO, 27 March 2015: Organisers of next year’s Rio Olympics said Wednesday they have struck a deal with online accommodation provider Airbnb to provide thousands of fans with a place to stay during the three-week extravaganza.

Details of the deal for Airbnb to provide 20,000 rooms during the first Games in South America will be officially unveiled Friday, a source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

It would be the first arrangement of its kind at a Games — organisers additionally have traditional large-scale accommodation in place with hotels.

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