Tokyo 2020 Paralympics Ticket Lottery Begins In Japan

Tokyo 2020 organizers have officially launched the ticket lottery for next year’s Paralympic Games.

The online ticket lottery began at 1:30 a.m. this morning and will run through 11:59 a.m. on September 9. Applications can be submitted through the official ticket sales website, and those chosen will be notified on October 2.

Organizers believe that the lottery will go a lot smoother this time around, since fans faced connection problems when the Olympic Games first went on sale in May; the lottery closed after 7.5 million people applied for tickets.  While the demand is still high, the organizing committee’s head of marketing Hidenori Suzuki told Kyodo News that the committee has done “a lot to ease traffic congestion.”

A ticket to the Paralympics can cost you at most 150,000 yen ($1,400) for the opening ceremony or 7,000 yen ($65) for the finals of swimming and wheelchair basketball. However, prices start at 500 yen ($4) for five sports including goalball, a game for vision-impaired athletics.

Those hoping to get tickets to the Paralympics will be required to complete the Tokyo 2020 ID registration procedure, and those who are already registered for Olympics tickets can use their same ID. During the lottery, fans can request up to 30 tickets as their first choice and another 30 as their second choice, but will only be able to purchase a maximum of 30 total. Another ticket lottery will take place sometime in early 2020.

The 2020 Paralympic Games will take place from August 25 to September 6. The Olympics will take place from July 24 to August 9.