Fears Over Zika, Crime Crush Ticket Sales To Olympic Games In Brazil
RIO DE JANEIRO (CBS SF) -- There are some embarrassing statistics for the Olympics Brazil. Only half of the tickets to the summer games have sold, and figures for the Paralympics are even worse.
Olympic officials fear there may be a lot of empty seats in the stadium during the opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro on August 5.
Fears over the Zika virus and crime seem to be scaring people away from the summer games. It doesn't help that the Brazilian economy is on the brink of collapse.
When Brazil was awarded the games in 2009, the country was stable. Now, the country's president Dilma Rousseff is facing impeachment and the country is in the midst of a recession.
Olympic officials are trying to ramp up excitement among Brazilians. The government may buy leftover tickets and give them to public school children.