The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee said Thursday they received requests for refunds for about 18 percent of the tickets bought for the Olympics due to the one-year postponement caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Organizers said they received some 810,000 applications for Olympic ticket refunds out of about 4.45 million tickets sold in the domestic lottery, and are considering reselling the refunded tickets in the future.
"We are grateful that more than 80 percent (of ticket holders) are looking forward to the Olympics. We are moving forward with preparations for a safe and secure tournament," an organizing committee official said.
Tickets that have already been purchased for the Tokyo Olympics, now scheduled to be held next summer from July 23 to Aug. 8, remain valid in principle for rescheduled events. Organizers decided to offer refunds for domestic ticket holders who can no longer attend the games because of the one-year postponement.
Applications were accepted from Nov. 11 to 30 and refunds will begin being issued late this month.
On Tuesday, the ticket refund process started for the Paralympics, slated for Aug. 24 to Sept. 5 next year. Organizers plan to accept applications on its official website until Dec. 21.
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