Sawt Falasteen - LA28 organizers promise 'affordable' Olympics tickets

LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman said one million tickets to the Olympics and Paralympics would be priced at $28 while a third of the roughly 14 million tickets due to go on sale would cost $100 or less.

"From the beginning, we've been clear: access to these games, because these games belong to everyone," Wasserman said. "These games have to be affordable and inclusive."

Wasserman was speaking in the shadow of the historic Los Angeles Coliseum on the eve of the first step towards tickets going on sale.

On Wednesday at 7:00 am local time (1500 GMT), fans around the world will be able to register for the chance to secure an opportunity to buy tickets starting in April.

Fans registering will be entered into a draw that will randomly assign time slots to buy tickets for the games.

- 'The first step' -

Wasserman's comments on Tuesday follow weeks of criticism of world football's governing body FIFA's ticketing strategy for this year's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

FIFA was forced to announce a limited number of tickets priced at $60 last month after ticket prices for the tournament were condemned as "extortionate and astronomical."

"This is the first step for fans around the city, around the country and yes around the world, to get their ticket to history and join us here in LA for the greatest games the world will have ever seen," Wasserman said.

"The foundation of everything we're building tomorrow is about fans, the people who bring the energy, the enthusiasm and the noise."

Tuesday's ceremony gathered around 300 Olympians and Paralympians from past Games as officials conducted a ceremonial lighting of the Olympic cauldron at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

"Our tickets are going to be affordable, our games will be accessible, and they're right here in our backyard," LA28 chief executive Reynold Hoover said at the event.

Hoover added that organisers had already seen more than 150,000 people sign up to be volunteers at the Games.

"That's nearly 150,000 supporters saying 'I want to be a part of this, I want to be a part of history," he said.

US swimming legend Janet Evans, a four-time Olympic gold medallist and LA28's chief athlete officer, cited her own experience of going to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics as a fan.

"The Olympics and Paralympics bring the world together but they inspire people," Evans told AFP.

"As a 12-year-old that came to watch the games here in '84, I was inspired to do what I do now. I think that making tickets accessible and affordable for everyone here in the city of Los Angeles is going to inspire young people...because that's what the Olympics do -- they inspire people."

Y.Shaath--SF-PST