Curling Is Best-Seller for Turin Olympics

AP Breaking News
Friday, December 2, 2005
(12-02) 11:46 PST DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) —

Speed skating is sold out at the Turin Olympics, while curling could be the hit of the games with an unexpected demand for tickets.

The Turin Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (TOROC) gave a percentage breakdown of tickets Friday at the general assembly of the European Olympic Committees meetings in Dublin.

Speed skating is the only sport to be sold out for games, which run Feb. 10-26. Curling is nearly 95 percent sold out. Luge and skeleton are the two least-popular sports, both with 79 percent of their tickets yet to sell.

As of September, 75 percent of all tickets sold have been to non-Italians.

Luciano Barra, the chief operating officer of TOROC, said the unsold tickets were mainly in the preliminary rounds, with finals in nearly all sports sold out.

Barra said the Dutch had fueled the speed skating sellout by buying 38,000 tickets.

“We believe that the tribune will be orange in color,” Barra said, referring the Dutch national color.

Short track speed skating has 17.3 percent of tickets left.

However, Barra was surprised at the popularity of curling, which has 16 days of competition in a 3,000-seat arena.

“This is in the village, and many are coming from Switzerland and Britain here,” Barra said.

Figure skating is the other most-popular sport, with only 3.3 percent of tickets left.

Surprisingly, ceremonies haven’t sold well, with 43.3 percent of tickets to the opening ceremony and 54.5 percent of tickets to the closing ceremony still available.

Nordic combined had 63 percent of tickets left, alpine skiing had 31 percent left and ice hockey had 44.7 percent.

TOROC is targeting 82 percent of all tickets to be sold. So far, TOROC has sold 540,000 of the 1 million tickets available.

“Italians traditionally don’t buy tickets two months before,” Barra said.

©2005 Associated Press

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