Olympic ticket sales

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34089, 28 February 1976, Page 21

Olympic ticket sales

About half of the 21,000 tickets officially allocated to New Zealand by the organising committee of the 1976 Montreal Olympics have been sold. The official New Zealand agent for the Montreal com-' mittee, Union Travel of Auckland, a division of the.

Union Steam Ship Company, .has only cancellations available for resale. i A spokesman for the company said that the initial ticket allocation was 11,000 — for sale between June and September last year. A (second allocation of 10.000 I was for sale between ■ early, I December and early January. While the total figure i might seem a reasonably impressive allotment the 'spokesman added, that many | of the tickets were for sporting events which often did not have major audience appeal. New Zealand, a rugby nation, received about 5500 tickets for the Olympic soccer events, whereas the j popular events were ath-1 i letics — in particular the 'l5OO metres — swimming,, gymnastics, weightlifting, | the opening and closing days, and a variety of finals. This situation had resulted j in many New’ Zealand! sportsmen and women decid-1 ing to stay at home and watch the world’s major I international sporting con- j test on television. Others, had cancelled their! inital reservations because of subsequent increases in travel and accommodation charges, and there was general public uncertainty as to whether the Olympics would ever take place at Montreal. The only other major

ticket source has been an overseas airline. According to the New Zeaid.iu manager of Swissair (Mr A. K. Hall) in Auckland yesterday his company had acquired about 3500 games tickets for New Zealanders. He added that in providling them Swissair was i ring to the group travel market only anu to Ividuals. These tickets have been sold through three major travel firms: Thomas |Cook and Sons, the Automobile Association, and United Travel. Mr Hall said when his company heard of the plight ’of John Walker's mother iwho was unable to obtain ’tickets to watch her son run in the 1500 metres, approaches were made to itsj North American branches to I see what could be done. The ; result was the 3500 tickets I for group travel for parties 'of 10 or more on what was virtually a world trip which would include the Montreal Games. On the several itineraries I portions of the air travel will be by Swissair. Mr Hall said travel by way of Asia and Europe to the games, or from Montreal back home through Europe and Asia W'ould cost onlyi slightly more than for a I traveller on a return Christ-] church-Montreal air ticket.