Almost one-third of the 2018 Olympics tickets still unsold

Seoul (dpa) - Almost one-third of the tickets for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics remain unsold three weeks ahead of the February 9 opening ceremony, local organizers said on Friday.The organizing committee POCOG said it has sold 69.7 per cent of the tickets, or 744,822 from a target of 1,068,627. Available tickets were given at 323,805.Alpine skiing events at the February 9-25 Games have seen a leading 82.3 per cent of the tickets sold, from a target of 52,753. At the other end of the spectrum is the closing ceremony, with just 55 per cent of the 22,536 tickets sold.The opening ceremony has seen 77.7 per cent of the tickets sold, and short track - where the host nation South Korea is most likely to medal - has 81.8 per cent of the 40,554 tickets sold.Ticket sales started slowly but picked up in recent weeks, with organizers saying that Koreans traditionally snap up tickets for events late.