Rio 2016: Low ticket sales worrying Brazil

The start of the 2016 Rio Olympics is more than four months away, but the Brazilian government already appears to be sounding the alarm bell.

Rio 2016 organizing committee spokesman Phil Wilkinson recently told reporters that just 50 percent of tickets have sold so far. He also said that the ticket sales for the Paralympic Games is worse, with only 12 percent being sold.

Growing concerns about the Zika virus, the area’s high crime rates and ongoing political turmoil in the region have resulted in meager ticket sales and a widening sense of apathy as the first games slated for South America fast approach.

Brazil through its newly appointed sports minister said they were rolling out a series of programs to boost sales of tickets.

One proposal is to ask the government to purchase the remaining tickets and distribute them to schools to avoid too many empty stands in the stadium.

Reuters