How to get tickets to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games — Ultimate Guide to Tokyo 2020

With the upcoming Olympics in 2020, ticket madness for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games is in full swing. While there remains some concern over flights and accommodations, the single largest question I continue to get is some flavor of:

· How to get tickets to Olympics 2020?

· How do I get tickets to Tokyo 2020?

· How can I find tickets to the Summer Games in Tokyo?

In this article, which is part of my Ultimate Guide to Tokyo 2020 — I will walk you through the best ways to get tickets to Tokyo 2020. But before that it is important to understand some context to best guide you on your journey.

Ticket demand for Tokyo 2020 has already crushed the demand for Rio 2016.

First, some background about me and my ability to get tickets for the Olympics Games. I attended 17 events in 10 days at London 2012, 31 events in 17 days at Rio 2016, and 20 events in 17 days at PyeongChang 2018. At this point, I have already booked ̵8̵ 11 events for Tokyo 2020 including the jewel event — the Men’s Baseball Gold Medal game. I personally plan to attend 20 events, all acquired through the methods I list below.

Second, it is important to understand the magnitude of Tokyo 2020. Tokyo 2020 (for reason I will discuss in a future post) is the most popular Olympics of all time, and by the time we get there, Opening Ceremony will be the most popular and most expensive event of all time rivaling the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final, the 2006 Rose Bowl, and several Super Bowls in recent memory. This means tickets are at a premium more than ever, — if you got used to easy last-minute access to tickets at Rio 2016 and PyeongChang 2018 you will need to change your mind set for Tokyo 2020.

Here’s why.

Tokyo has a greater metro population of 35M, yes 35M. Initially there were only 7.8 million tickets in total available for the Tokyo 2020 games and then there was record demand during the lottery where 7.5M people registered for and requested 70M+ tickets. Since the lottery, the Tokyo 2020 committee has announced the number of available tickets has been expanded to 9.0M to help make the Olympics accessible to more people. In addition, 70–80% of the tickets go to the home country — the remainder to the rest of the world.

While there have been initial lotteries and on sales for many countries already, it is important to realize that there are many, many sales to still come. We are only in the first mile of a marathon and despite frustrations of not securing tickets yet, you will have numerous opportunities over the next year. Ticket hunting is always a marathon.

Example: For London 2012, I did not have a single event ticket 90 days before the Summer Games started. Still, in what was considered the hardest Summer Games to get tickets for to date, I was able to get tickets for 17 events including Team USA basketball, Closing Ceremony, Michael Phelps last swim (the first time), and several other marquee events. It takes both patience and persistence.

Olympic Ticket Sales are Way Too Complicated

That’s right, too make it even more confusing — the sale of Olympic tickets is extremely complicated, even for those of us that have been through these sales multiple times. There are all kinds of rules and they can change from Olympics to Olympics and even with the same Olympics. Here are the key things you need to know:

• Residents from Japan can only buy from the Tokyo Organizing Committee, and not from the rest of the world. To date there have not been any sales, only a single lottery with more lotteries planned. The site for resident of Japan is: https://ticket.tokyo2020.org/
• Residents of other countries each have an appointed Authorized Ticket Reseller (or ATR) from which you must buy your tickets from. The list of ATRs and the specific ATR for you country can be found here: https://ticket.tokyo2020.org/Home/ATRList?culture=en-us
• In special cases, such as the European Union any European Union member country resident from one country can buy from any other country. For example residents of France can buy from the ATR for Spain.
• Furthermore, the Tokyo 2020 contract with ATRs retains the right to also sell directly to the entire world with some conditions. It is not a certainty, but the earliest it can happen is January 2020. We will not know for some time, especially as the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee plans how best to distribute tickets with the massive demand in Japan.

With all of that context, here are the ways you can still get tickets to the Olympics in 2020:

Standard Channels

1. Through normal channels that your country makes available to you via live sales. Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) appoints an authorized reseller known as an ATR that handles the sales for each country.
2. In the USA, the company is Cosport. They have already conducted a lottery and initial on sale.
3. Europeans have a distinct advantage at obtaining tickets for the Olympics at Tokyo 2020. Why? Because of the European directive, you can purchase tickets from any country’s allocation and not only your own. For example, if you are a resident of France who uses Eventeam, you can also purchase from Dertour who is the authorized reseller for Germany. This applies for all of the EU.
4. Tickets are not only released on specific announced sales. Keep checking back as tickets are constantly being released. Example: Cosport USA has had ̶4̶ 10 unannounced additional follow-up ticket sales.

Packages

1. Packages. Each ATR makes packages available that allow you to bundle hotel, transportation, tickets, and hospitality together. Important to note that these packages are often very expensive with 3* and 4* hotels going for as much as $1000/night for them. Still, many are willing to pay the additional for peace of mind knowing that they secured tickets to the Tokyo 2020.

Sponsors

1. If you or your company has a relationship with one of the main sponsors of Tokyo 2020 or your National Olympic Committee, reach out and ask them. Almost every sponsor has tickets meant to take their best customers to the event. If they say no, be polite and friendly — you never know what will happen last minute.

National Olympic Committees

1. Many committees have programs which enable you to donate to their foundations that may include access to purchase tickets. For example, Team USA offers two levels of a Concierge Program at $25,000 and $50,000 commitment levels over four years. Benefits are good for both a Summer and Winter Games, although Team USA has already sold out of both programs for Tokyo 2020.

International and National Federations

1. Much like your National Olympic Committees, both International and National Federations such as in Athletics the IAAF (International) and USATF (USA Track & Field) will have donation opportunities. Since these federations often get less attention than their National Olympic Committee counterparts, the entry points may be much lower than with the National Olympic Committees.

Sponsor an Athlete

1. Consider working with an Olympic hopeful, potentially in a lesser known sport. With a lack of sponsors, there may be an opportunity to help sponsor the athlete and, in the event, that athlete reaches the Olympics, opportunities could arise.

Secondary Market

1. Some sites including Viagogo and others are already listing Olympic Tickets for Tokyo 2020 way above face value. While is likely many are what Japan and Tokyo 2020 consider “illegal or black market sales” — there are loopholes in the Japan law that recently went into force for tickets that are given away or people are invited to that allows them to be resold legally.
2. Given the demand for Tokyo 2020, a robust secondary market is expected and some sites like Stubhub have yet to determine whether or not they will allow tickets to be listed. As with any secondary market purchase, buyer beware — and by the same token, seller beware.
3. Buyer beware. Both Tokyo 2020 and the ATRs are threatening to cancel tickets for those that are sold or attempted to be sold on the secondary market.

Resources

There are a couple of resources that will help you find the Olympic tickets that are available, in relatively real time so that you do not miss out on opportunities as they materialize.

1. Tokyo 2020 Planning Facebook group. This Facebook group is the world’s largest group of Olympic Fan Veterans and Olympic Fan Hopefuls in the world. Sole mission of the group is to help you on your way to the Olympic Games, whether it is flights, hotels, entertainment, and of course — Olympic Tickets! https://www.facebook.com/groups/579595599093246/
2. Twitter 2012Tweeps. Well known group of ticket hunters that came to prominence during the challenging London 2012 Olympics. By following the hashtag #2012Tweeps, you can stay up to date.

This article is constantly changing and being updated based on how the ticket market is changing, bookmark this page and check back often.

About Ken Hanscom:
Ken Hanscom is a veteran-fan of the Olympic Games and the recognized expert in ticketing, corporate sponsorships, traveling to and experiencing the Olympic Games. In his role as COO at TicketManager, during Rio 2016 & PyeongChang, Ken worked directly with the United States Olympic Committee, NBC Universal, Anheuser Busch, & Cartan Tours the authorized ticket reseller for 23 countries across the globe on their ticketing & corporate hospitality programs. While in Rio, Ken attended 30 events while guest blogging for the International Business Times, writing for USA Today, The Post Game, and appearing on TV with NBC, and ESPN Radio. Ken and his wife Ashley are also trustees of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Foundation (USOPF). For more information and interviews with Ken on the Olympics and the upcoming Tokyo 2020 games, connect via Twitter or directly at kenh@ticketmanger.com.