BRAZIL’S government sounded the alarm Saturday over meager sales of Olympic tickets and public apathy just five months before Rio hosts South America’s first Summer Games.

    With worries about the Zika virus, high crime and a major political crisis already overshadowing the Aug. 5 opening ceremony, Brazil now faces the embarrassing prospect of empty stadiums.

    Only 50 percent of tickets to the Olympics have sold so far, Rio 2016 organizing committee spokesman Phil Wilkinson said Saturday. For the Paralympics, which follow the main Games, the figure is far worse: just 12 percent.

    Ricardo Leyser, who last 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 — as well as to stir up more excitement among Brazilians.

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

    “There is a perception that the Brazilian population has not yet woken up for the Games. We are going to work energetically on this because it’s still not in people’s heads. We need to sound an alert so that people remember this event and go and buy tickets,” he said.

    (SD-Agencies)