Paris Olympic Committee announces alcohol ban except for VIP Zones

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
26 Jun 2023 15:14

Citing a national law, the organizing committee of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris announces the prohibition of alcohol from competition territory with the only exception in VIP Zones.

President of the Paris Organising Committee of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games President Tony Estanguet speaks during the unveiling of the route for the Paris 2024 Olympic Torch relay at the Sorbonne in Paris, Friday, June 23, 2023. (AP)

The governing body of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, which will be held next year, 2024, from 26 July till August 1st, opted to prohibit the consumption of alcohol on the competition grounds, except in VIP designated zones, reported the French newspaper Parisien, on Monday.

The report added that the organizing committee justified the ban by making reference to a national law that regulates the rules for advertising alcoholic beverages in France and disallows the use of alcohol brands in the names of sporting events. However, the committee failed to specifically state which provisions of the law have become a barrier to the sale of alcohol at the venues of the Olympics.

It is worth noting Parisien also revealed that a VIP ticket at the Stade de France will cost approximately 4,900 euros.

Paris Olympics tickets viewed pricey, ticketing process complicated

Around four out of five French people believe tickets for the 2024 Paris Olympics are too expensive, a poll showed last March, underlining growing public frustration with organizers over the issue.

A total of 82% of respondents said that tickets for the games were "not accessible in terms of price," according to a survey from the Odoxa polling group for the RTL media group and sports betting firm Winamax.

Around the same proportion of people found the ticketing process to be "complicated", the survey found.

"We're not more expensive than London in 2012," Tony Estanguet, the president of the 2024 Paris organizing committee, told RTL radio on February 22. "It's the same for the football and rugby World Cups. These are the prices."

The official slogan for the Paris event is "Games Wide Open," and former canoeing gold medallist Estanguet promised "a large number of tickets at accessible prices, for all the sports" when the ticketing policy was announced in March last year.

Organizers have pledged a million tickets at 24 euros ($25) and almost half at under 50 euros, but the difficulties in obtaining these cut-price offers appear to be the reason for the public frustration.

Social media has been filled with comments denouncing prices of up to 690 euros for a place at the athletics, as well as a lack of availability for sports such as fencing and climbing that have quickly sold out.

Around three million tickets were on sale in the first phase, with a further seven million to come in another two rounds.