Pyeongchang Olympics tickets sales pass 60 per cent mark

Berlin (dpa) - Olympic ticket sales for the upcoming Pyeongchang Winter Games have surpassed 60 per cent, with alpine and cross-country skiing as well as short track speed skating leading the way, local organizers said on Sunday.The organizing committee POCOG said that 61 per cent, or 655,000 tickets, have been sold, with 47 days left until the February 9 opening ceremony.Ticket sales were sluggish at first, with the 50 per cent mark not reached until late November but officials have said that Koreans are notoriously late ticket-buyers. Sales also picked up once the torch relay started on November 1, generating growing excitement in the first snow and ice Games in mainland Asia.Alpine skiing leads the way with 81 per cent of its tickets sold, followed by cross-country (79 per cent), and short track (74) in which the host nation is expected to pick up most medals. Biathlon, by contrast, has seen only 41 per cent of the tickets soldMeanwhile 67 per cent of the tickets for the February 9 opening ceremony have been sold, but only 35 per cent for the closing ceremony on February 25.