Brazil facing massive glut of unsold tickets for the 2016 Olympics

The 2016 Olympics in Brazil have been plagued with trouble. From the protests, evictions and environmental controversies that accompanied the runup to the games, to the massive political crisis currently facing the Brazilian government, to the outbreak of the Zika virus, to the flatlining economy, seemingly nothing has gone right. So it’s no surprise that ticket sales for the games aren’t doing too well either.

Agence France Presse reported Saturday that just 50% of tickets to the 2016 games have been sold so far. Only 12% of the tickets for the accompanying Paralympic Games have been bought.

From the AFP:

Ricardo Leyser, who this week replaced George Hilton as Brazil’s minister of sport, said in an interview with Folha newspaper that he was working on a plan to boost purchases.

One measure could be the government buying up unsold tickets, particularly for the Paralympics, and distributing them among schools.

Oof. The government having to buy tickets just to fill the seats is not a good look.