MORE than 80 percent of the 2.4 million tickets made available for the Rio Paralympics could be sold amid a late surge in demand, according to the head of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB).

    After months of tepid interest, ticket sales for the Sept. 7-18 event have spiked since the end of the Olympic Games on Aug. 21.

    “We have 2.4 million tickets on sale, but the goal is to sell 2 million,” CPB president Andrew Parsons was quoted as saying by the Globo newspaper Sunday.

    “I can guarantee that there will be Brazilians on the medal podium nearly every day. And having [local] fans there will be important. I am certain that those who attend will see that Paralympic sport is incredible.”

    Concerns about Paralympics funding amid Brazil’s worst recession in decades have also been allayed in recent days, according to Parsons.

    He said the federal government was in the process of disbursing the 250 million reais (US$77 million) requested by organizers.(Xinhua)