In the first lottery phase, there have been more than three million ticket requests for the 2020 Paralympic Games, which -- like the 2020 Olympics -- are set to take place in Tokyo. To put those numbers into perspective, it is three times the demand that the 2012 Paralympics in London garnered a year before the games began.
London ended up selling 2.7 million tickets for the 2012 games.
"We have some very good numbers on ticket sales," Andrew Parsons, the president of the International Paralympic Committee, told The Guardian. "We had 3.1 million ticket requests. It is an unprecedented number, three times more than in London [one year before the start of Games] and London was the most successful Paralympic Games so far. This shows the appetite that Japanese society has for the Olympic Games next year."
There were around 600,000 tickets that were allocated during the first lottery phase that recently took place. For the 2020 Paralympic Games, organizers have revealed that 2.3 million tickets are available, but there could be more released down the road.
"It is a positive surprise and it is paying off all the efforts, not only of the IPC but also Tokyo 2020, the levels of government, the media and Japanese society," Parsons added. "They are engaged. If you think of the last wheelchair rugby tournament a few weeks ago and the enthusiasm of the spectators, this is a country where people have fallen in love with Paralympic sports."
Like the Olympics, the 2016 Paralympic Games were held in Rio de Janeiro and saw athletes from 159 nations compete in events such as cycling, powerlifting, swimming, volleyball, and wheelchair basketball. Earlier this year, the World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge drew huge crowds and Japan figures to have a big following when the Games come to Tokyo.
In total, 2.3 million tickets were sold for the 2016 Paralympic Games and it's clear that even more success is expected this time around.
