Buying Tickets For Tokyo 2020
Recently the lottery for Tokyo 2020’s tickets was opened domestically on May 9th, for those who wish to get their hands on the first available tickets for the upcoming Summer Olympics. Here is a collection of important information, including links and videos that can be helpful regarding purchasing tickets. As many other Olympic events before it, Tokyo 2020 will unfortunately not be able to guarantee everybody tickets to their favourite events due to limitations. Here is some help that may help you land your golden ticket.
Applying For Tickets
In grand total, it is estimated that 7.8 million tickets will be sold across all Olympic events. Of these roughly 8 million available tickets, about three fourths is said to be allocated to Japanese residents. There is a different process for those in Japan versus those overseas.
Japanese Residents
Japanese residents will have the first dibs at claiming Tokyo 2020 tickets by entering into a virtual lottery online. This raffle is open until May 28th, with the winners of the lottery being announced less than a month later on June 20th. The winners of the tickets will then have to pay by July 2nd.
*Edit. It was announced that due to the success of the first lottery and sheer amount of tickets ordered, a second lottery will be held in August. The exact date is not 100% set, but will likely take place before August 22nd.
If one doesn’t win one of these initial lotteries, it does not mean they won’t be able to get tickets for venues, as realistically this is for the most coveted tickets. These highly sought after tickets tend to be for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as premier seats at sporting events. Some events, such as the 100m, volleyball and swimming have been historically very popular. Some Japanese favourites like judo or wrestling may also be highly sought after.
Once the lottery is over, the tickets will be sold on a first come first serve basis, available once again online starting in the Autumn of 2019. Last minute ticket sales will then be made available in the spring of 2020 at physical kiosk locations, mere months before the games begin.
To enter the lottery or to purchase online tickets, you will need to create an ID at the official Tokyo 2020 website, which can be done so at the link below.
Tokyo 2020 ID Register:
https://id.tokyo2020.org/oidc/login.html
Overseas Residents
For the remaining tickets, they will be sold to overseas customers. These tickets will not go on sale until sometime in 2020, and will not be sold directly by the Tokyo 2020 Organizers or the IOC. Rather “Authorised Ticket Resellers”, have been chosen for each country to be the main distributer of tickets. Below is a link that will allow you to access the various sites of different countries ticket resellers.
Price Range
One of the factors on everyone's minds will be the prices of the tickets for their favourite sports. The price range is quite drastic with some general tickets being as low as 2,500 yen and the price of premiere opening ceremony tickets hovering around 300, 000 yen. There are several specialty ticket prices that will be available for families, senior citizens and those with disabilities. Some of these prices will drop even lower than 2,500 yen. Below is an official PDF released by the Tokyo 2020 organizers, detailing the prices based on the sport and sections of seating. It also gives you key dates and other important information.
Explanatory Video
If you would like even more advice, here is a video posted on the Tokyo 2020 official YouTube page, giving tips on applying for tickets and outlining key dates.
If you have any questions, or would like to contact me, feel free to message me at Shotarohmoore@hotmail.com
