Lusofonia Games 2014 to allow free entry to spectators

The 3rd Lusofonia Games is set to be held in Goa

The organizers of the Lusofonia Games 2014, set to be held in Goa from 18-29 January, have decided to allow free entry to spectators, with the gates being open for anyone to enter and watch the event.

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was reportedly inclined towards making the event free for spectators, and following a meeting held with high-ranking Lusofonia Games Organizing Committee (LUGOC) officials, the ticketing process has been scrapped.

“Earlier, the tickets had been designed and tentative prices had been fixed for all events. However, to ensure that nothing holds back the fans from enjoying nail-biting sporting action, Parrikar decided to scrap the tickets and roll out the red carpet to sports fans. The gesture will be appreciated by sports lovers who are looking forward to the international sporting event,” LUGOC said in a statement on Monday.

“The idea behind opening the gates to the public is to attract maximum crowd for all events. The government will not lose any revenue from keeping it non-ticketed. The state government is spending crores of rupees on creating infrastructure and organization of the Games. As compared to that, the loss of revenue from sale of tickets, will be minuscule,” said the Chief Minister.

The 2014 Lusofonia Games will be the third edition of the Lusophony Games, a multi-sport event that represents athletes from Portuguese-speaking countries and territories. It is organized by the ACOLOP or Associacao dos Comites Olimpicos de Lingua Oficial Portugues.

Participants from 12 countries will compete for top honours in the nine sporting disciplines: athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, football, judo, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball and wushu.