It's not official, but the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics could mark the first time the athletic extravaganza is a total sellout in its 60-year history. Organizers reported on Tuesday that they had received more than 3.1 million requests for tickets.

Given that there are only 2.3 million ducats available for the 540 events covering 22 sports during the 13-day sports summit, chances are there won't be an empty seat to be found once the games begin Aug. 25.

3 Supply & Demand

YouTube

Until all the overwhelming vending aspects of supply and demand are sorted out, the London 2012 staging of the Paralympics still holds the attendance record. Statistics from back then reveal sales amounted to some 2.7 million tickets, but not every event sold out. Still, the results surpassed the previous record of 1.8 million set by Beijing in 2008.

Tokyo organizers realized they were onto a good thing back in October when 600,000 tickets were on the block for the first of a number of lotteries. They were very quickly snapped up.

2 Good Numbers

UCI

“We have some very good numbers on ticket sales,” said Andrew Parsons, the president of the International Paralympic Committee to Reuters. “This shows the appetite that Japanese society has for the Olympic Games next year.”

The Paralympics, described by the IPC as "sport for athletes with an impairment," are usually held after the Olympic Games conclude Aug. 9. An estimated 4,400 athletes from 80 countries are expected to participate, including 105 from the U.S., second only to Japan's roster of 111. All the Paralympic events will be held in Tokyo except the marathon sessions, which will run further north in Sapporo to help athletes avoid the heatwaves slated to hit the Japanese capital during the summer.

1 Heavy Interest

Canadian Paralympic Committee

The news of heavy interest in the Paralympics of late is a positive contrast to the first half-century of the games, which struggled to put patrons in seats. But over the last decade, interest in the Paralympics has skyrocketed, much of it due to the media's decision, particularly in Asia and Europe, to dedicate equal amounts of coverage with the Olympics. Paralympic tickets are usually cheaper than Olympic seats, while the philosophy to focus on the achievements of disabled athletes has drawn the attention of more inclusive-minded younger audiences.