Paralympics ticket sales at just over 10 percent - organisers

By Karolos Grohmann

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Organisers of next month's Paralympic Games have so far sold only slightly over 10 percent of tickets for the event and have yet to find the cash needed to get the teams to Rio, they said on Wednesday.

The Paralympics, held from Sept. 7-18, are facing the same problem as the Olympics where many events have had empty seats as Brazilians stayed away.

Organisers are also struggling to find the cash and pay grants to national Paralympic committees to help their athletes go to Rio and compete and poor ticket sales will only compound that problem.

"We sold about 12 percent of the tickets for the Paralympic Games. It is a concern," said Games spokesman Mario Andrada.

"We made the concern public several ways in several moments. However, we understand that the rhythm of sales for Olympic tickets has picked up dramatically and generally in the history of the Games the energy generated by the Olympic Games tends to help a lot in selling tickets for the Paralympics."

Brazil is currently locked in a political crisis while also experiencing the worst economic turmoil since the 1930s.

The Rio Olympics have long run out of cash, with a judge in Brazil blocking further payment from the state and leaving the Paralympics without much-needed funding.

Brazil is locked in a political crisis while also experiencing the worst economic turmoil since the 1930s.

Judge Marcia Maria Nunes ruled last Friday that the federal government and the city of Rio de Janeiro could not provide some 270 million reais ($85 million) promised to help pay for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games and next month's Paralympics unless its accounts are made public.

That means organisers cannot distribute much-needed grants to the national committees for travel to Brazil.

"We understand that the travel grant was due some time ago," said Andrada.

"But we also understand that we have plenty of time to make sure that all the athletes will be able to get here in time for competition and in time for preparing themselves for competition."

"We met with the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) yesterday and later met with several of our colleagues and the broadcasters confirming that we will stage and host the Paralympic Games as planned and that we want to stage a very successful Paralympic Games."

(Editing by Nina Chestney)