Ice hockey proving the hottest ticket as sales approach 1.2 million

MILAN, Feb 2 : Almost 1.2 million tickets have been sold for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and the Paralympics, local organisers said on Monday, with ice hockey topping the list.

That figure represents around 75 per cent of the total capacity for the Games which open on Friday and will be followed by the Paralympics next month.

The ice hockey will feature players from the North American NHL for the first time since 2014. Organisers are rushing to get the new Santagiulia ice hockey stadium in Milan ready in time for the Games.

The opening ceremony of the Games will be held in Milan's historic San Siro soccer stadium on Friday but the sporting action begins as early as Wednesday.

Fans will be able to buy two tickets for the price of one for some of the events being staged between Wednesday and Friday, in a promotion announced on Monday. These include curling in Cortina d'Ampezzo, the Sweden v Germany women's ice hockey match in Milan, and men's big air snowboard qualification in the mountain town of Livigno.

Biathlon, which is being staged in Antholz-Anterselva, and the cross country skiing in Tesero have the highest ticket sales after ice hockey.

The new Olympic sport of ski mountaineering in Bormio  is already sold out.

(Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Ed Osmond)