Mayor Denis Coderre has long evaded the question of how many tickets to last summer's Formula E car race were given out free. Now, organizers have released the figure.
Montréal C'est Électrique, the promoter of the event, say out of the 45,000 tickets available, 20,000 of them were freebies — or 45 per cent.
The other 25,000 were for paying customers — including those sold in bunches to groups and corporations, meaning it's extremely likely that many others who attended the event on July 29 and 30 did so on someone else's dime.
Organizers insist the event was a smashing success, with 92 percent of those who attended giving it a positive review.
The organizers also presented studies suggesting the event succeeded in its goal of informing racegoers about electric transport — 63 per cent of them suggested they learned something about electric cars, and as many said it piqued their curiosity about the electrification of transportation.
At the time of the race, Coderre expressed confidence the event, which cost $24 million to stage, would sell out. During the election campaign, the mayor has repeatedly avoided answering direct questions about the number of people who actually paid to see the race.
The city is committed to holding the race for another two years, with an option to hold it for three more.