No. 4 Rio 2016 tickets go on sale celebrating 1 Year To Go

"This is the best moment to acquire tickets to the Paralympic Games."

During the one-year-to-go celebrations on 7 September, Rio 2016 launched the ticket sales, offering a record number of 3.3 million tickets to Paralympic fans. Additionally, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) partnered with Jet Set Sports to make the process easier for international fans to obtain tickets.

The release of Rio 2016 ticket sales comes in at No. 4 on the IPC’s Top 50 Moments of 2015.

A total of 3.3 million tickets are available – 500,000 more than the London 2012 Games – covering the 22 Paralympic sports and Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The cheapest ticket is BRL 10 (EUR 2.30) and the most expensive is BRL 1,200 (EUR 281) for the Opening Ceremony. Two million Rio 2016 tickets are priced at BRL 30 (EUR 7) or less.

In the first phase of ticket sales in Brazil, Brazilian residents had until 30 September to request their tickets on the ticket portal. The second phase started in early December and is now a first-come-first-served online sale for remaining tickets.

“This is the best moment to acquire tickets to the Paralympic Games,” said Rio 2016 ticketing director Donovan Ferreti at the launch. “We will make about 80 per cent of the total tickets available in this phase, and everyone will have an equal chance of getting tickets, no matter which order they arrive in.”

The partnership between the IPC and Jet Set Sports will allow fans and supporters around the world to witness the Games first-hand, as Jet Set Sports was named as the IPC’s Global Authorised Ticket Reseller (ATR) and Official Hospitality Provider.

In close co-ordination with the IPC as well as each Organising Committee, National Paralympic Committees and their respective constituencies, Jet Set Sports will offer a variety of individual ticket and package offerings within 162 territories for Rio 2016. Paralympic fans and supporters who have historically been underserved and as a result underrepresented at the Paralympic Games are expected to benefit from these enhanced opportunities.

There will be tickets to 315 sessions, with each person able to request tickets to a maximum of 20 sessions. The maximum number of tickets per session will be 12 for lower demand events and eight for the most in-demand events, such as the wheelchair basketball final and Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

More information on ticket sales can be found on Rio 2016’s website.

To further celebrate the one-year-to-go mark, Rio 2016 also staged a Paralympic Festival at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, showcasing top level para-sport and welcoming the world’s fastest Paralympic sprinters to compete against each other.

Ireland’s Jason Smyth confirmed his status as the fastest para-athlete on the planet by winning an unprecedented 100m challenge. The double Paralympic and world champion – whose 10.46 seconds is the quickest Paralympic mark across all categories – triumphed in 10.73 in the event that was part of the one year until the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games celebrations.

The event also featured a women’s competition, which was won by the pre-race favourite. Cuba’s Omara Durand – who became the fastest female para-athlete by clocking a world-record 100m T13 time of 11.65 during August’s Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games – won in 11.74.

To find out more about the IPC’s Top 50 Moments of 2015, visit the dedicated page on the IPC’s website.