Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee Reveals Updated Ticket Sales

Since the start of the Sochi 2014 Ticketing Program until today, 924 802 tickets to the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi have been sold. Due to the increased demand for tickets, in addition to the Main Ticket Centers in Moscow and Sochi, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee has opened a Main Ticket Center in Adler (in the Adler railway station, 113 Lenin Street) as well as at ticket offices in the airport, the Olympic Park railway station and near sports venues. Organizers are fully satisfied with the ticket program.

The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee has done all it can to ensure that as many spectators as possible can attend the events with the greatest public appeal. Ticket prices for the Olympic Games in Sochi were among the most affordable in the history of the Winter Games: the minimum price was just 500 rubles.

Sochi 2014 ticketing program stages

Ticket sales for the XXII Olympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi began on February 7, 2013 all around the world.

On May 31, 2013, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee completed the first phase of ticket sales without seats by price categories. Over the course of the summer, spectator places at the stands were automatically allocated.

Spectators who bought tickets during the first phase of sales, could learn the location of their seats at the stadium in their "Personal Account" at the official site of the 2014 Games www.sochi2014.com under "Tickets".

On October 10, 2013 the second phase of ticket sales for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games started on the official Games website sochi2014.com. Fans could purchase their tickets with pre-allocated seats for the sports events and Ceremonies.

The third wave of ticket sales for the Games was launched on January 17, 2014. The most scarce types of tickets to competitions, including the final men's hockey tournament, appeared on the tickets.sochi2014.com site every day during the period from January 17 to 23.

Also, in December 2013 the Fan2Fan,page was opened on the official ticketing site, allowing sports fans to sell or buy tickets from other fans. Fan2Fan is the only official online platform that allows users to legally purchase tickets from other viewers, including those which are currently not available for purchase on the ticket site.

Sales of tickets to the Paralympic Winter Games commenced on September 27, 2013.

"Olympic Holidays"

In January 2014, the "Olympic Holidays" began in Sochi - the unique social program is the culmination of the Olympic education projects. As part of this program, tens of thousands of pupils, students and teachers will have the opportunity to visit the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi. Competition spectators will be those who have made the most significant contributions to the practice of Olympic education in the last 5 years. For pupils in Sochi, the holidays will take place from February 7 to 20 and March 7 to 16 in 2014.

Sochi 2014 volunteers can also cheer on the athletes in their free time.

Sales statistics

More than 350,000 new users visit the tickets.sochi2014.com site daily.

In just the first few hours from the start of the second sales phase, several thousand tickets were sold and 60,000 unique visits to the portal were made. In an hour approximately 150,000 applications were processed.

The leading cities for ticket sales as of today are Sochi (27%), Moscow (16%) and Krasnodar (7%).

Approximately 30% of tickets to the Olympic Games were obtained by foreign citizens. In many countries, tickets are virtually sold out, and Japan and Germany have reported that their quotas have completely sold out. Fans have actively purchased tickets from countries of Europe, Canada and the USA.

The most popular events are the Ceremonies, hockey, biathlon and figure skating.

Among Russian spectators, most tickets have been sold in the 1,500 ruble (6%) and 1,000 ruble (7%) categories. Approximately 37% of the total number of tickets purchased were in the of 500 to 3,000 rubles price range. 44% of tickets purchased were obtained at a price up to 4,000 rubles.

On average, every family or group of 2-3 friends has planned to visit several competitions at the same time.

Ticket prices

The pricing policy at the Games in Sochi is based on ticketing programs from past Games, and on research into demand in the Russian market. The ticket prices were approved by the International Olympic Committee and the Russian government.

Ticket prices are final, include all taxes and the right for spectators to travel on public transport during the competition day specified on the ticket. Ticket prices are the same for all spectators. In accordance with common Olympic practice, discounts and free tickets are not provided.

Tickets for the Olympic Games in Sochi will be among the most affordable in the history of the Winter Games. The minimum ticket price for the Olympic competitions is just 500 rubles. 42% of all tickets cost less than 3,000 rubles; 60% of all tickets cost less than 5,000 rubles; tickets for the Ceremonies begin at 4,500 rubles. The most expensive ticket at the Games is a category "A" ticket for the Opening Ceremony, costing 50,000 rubles.

The ticket purchasing procedure for the Sochi Games is extremely transparent

Russian citizens and foreign nationals officially residing in the country can purchase tickets for the Sochi Olympic Winter Games on the official website www.sochi2014.com and main ticket offices in Moscow and Sochi, and box offices at the Olympic venues.

Residents of other countries may buy tickets through Official Ticket Agents in their country, at main ticket boxes and ticket boxes at venues. Also, in a number of countries, tickets can be purchased directly on the official Games site.

In order to allow the most number of spectators to attend the 2014 Olympic competitions and to enjoy the atmosphere of the Games, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee has imposed a limit on the number of tickets one party can purchase for a particular event.

For many of the most popular events, such as the ice hockey and figure skating competitions and the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, the limit is 4 tickets per person, and for the rest of the events, 8 tickets. In addition, the total number of tickets per customer must not exceed 50.

Payment for tickets

A Visa card is the simplest and most convenient way to purchase tickets to the Sochi Games. In recognition of Visa's support for the Olympic Games over many years, Visa cards will be the only cards accepted for payment when ordering tickets online. This is also the only card accepted for payment at the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. For information on how to apply for a Visa card, please visit www.visa.com.ru.

Tickets may be paid for in cash if purchased at the Main Ticket Centers in Moscow and Sochi.

When paying for tickets at Main Ticket Centers, you must have: Visa card or cash; identification document.

The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee is the only retailer of tickets to the Sochi Games in the Russian Federation.

It is only possible to purchase tickets on the official website of the Organizing Committee and at official retail points, a full list of which is available on the Organizing Committee's official website.

Also, in December 2013 the webpage for Fan2Fan opened on the official ticketing website, where sports fans can purchase tickets from other fans. Fan2Fan is the only official online platform through which fans can legally purchase tickets from other spectators and may help fans to find that special missing ticket to the Games that is no longer available on the ticketing website.

Tickets that are purchased unofficially do not guarantee fans entrance to competitions and Games ceremonies.

Anti-scalping measures

The federal anti-ticket scalping law that has come into force guarantees the transparency of the ticket sales process for the Sochi Games.

On January 2, 2013, Vladimir Putin signed the Federal Law "On introducing amendments to article 9 of the federal law "On the Organization and Delivery of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and the XI Paralympic Winter Games of 2014 in the City of Sochi, the Development of Sochi as a Mountain Climate Resort and the Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation and the Code of the Russian Federation on administrative offenses."

According to the legislation, which came into force on January 15, 2013, an administrative penalty for violation of ticket sales was enacted: for citizens - to the value of 5-10 tickets, for officials and entrepreneurs - to the value of 10-20 tickets (but not less than 50,000 rubles), and for legal entities - from 500,000 to 1 million rubles.

Legal entities and individual entrepreneurs would also face suspension of business for up to 90 days.

Spectator Pass

The Spectator Pass serves as yet another unique souvenir from the Sochi Games.

All visitors will require a Spectator Pass to visit the Games in Sochi. A Pass will be valid for the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

A Spectator Pass and a ticket are required to attend competitions and enter the Olympic Park. It is not just a required document for all spectators - it will also be a souvenir of the Games in Sochi.

After buying a ticket, we recommend that every spectator promptly go through the registration process on the website pass.sochi2014.com in order to obtain a Spectator Pass. Early registration will help spectators avoid queues at the entrance to the sports venues and save time.

In the Spectator Pass application form specify your full name and personal data (date and place of birth, nationality, type of identification (passport, foreign passport, birth certificate), document number), contact details, order number and also provide a photo.

The data will be processed and verified within 72 hours, after which you will receive notification that your registration was successful by email or telephone.

After the application is approved, the Spectator Pass can be obtained from Spectator Registration Centers in Moscow and Sochi. More information on the procedure for obtaining a Spectator Pass and the addresses of Spectator Registration Centers are available at https://pass.sochi2014.com.

Residents of other countries can obtain a Spectator Pass via Authorized Ticket Resellers or IOC partners in their own countries, or at the Registration Centers in Moscow and Sochi.

If a citizen of another country has been issued a Russian visa, he/she receives the Spectator Pass immediately without being screened.

For more detailed information, please contact the Press Service for the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee: sochi2014.com | media@sochi2014.com | +7 (862) 445 1000, +7 (862) 445 61 77

20 Years at #1: