As registration for tickets to the Beijing 2008 Olympiad began on March 8, a veritable frenzy has kicked up online as to how fans can get their hands on the precious tickets.

 

The bilingual website www.tickets.beijing2008.com provides precise information on ticket pricing and policies, booking procedures, a schedule for the Olympics and an introduction to the venues.

 

Ticket orders should soon come flooding in, but should demand overtake supply as is looking likely, no mechanism exists yet to determine allocation procedures.

 

"We will try to ensure the fairest way to allocate tickets," said Rong Jun, ticketing division chief of BOCOG's marketing department.

 

Chinese citizens, foreign residents in China, and denizens of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan can also buy tickets through the website should they meet the following requirements:

 

1. Citizens of Hong Kong and Macao SARs must either possess a valid passport or a Chinese Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents with valid endorsement;

 

2. Citizens of Taiwan Province must possess a valid travel document or a Chinese Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents with valid endorsement;

 

3. Foreign citizens must possess a valid passport with a Chinese visa valid for at least six months.

 

People residing in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan or abroad are not eligible to order Olympic tickets through this website.

 

Ticket buyers can contact the regional Olympic Committee or sports federation for ticket ordering information.

 

1. Hong Kong: Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, www.hkolympic.org.

 

2. Macao: Macao Sport Development Board, www.sport.gov.mo.

 

3. Taiwan: Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, www.tpenoc.net.

 

4. All other countries must refer to their National Olympic Committee.

 

Tickets can also be purchased through telephone sales, ticket booths at the venues and designated agencies outside the host city.

 

Affordable Games

 

Despite boasting the most expensive ticket to any event in modern Olympic history with the 5,000 yuan (US$636) opening ceremony, the Beijing Games are also catering to ordinary Chinese by presenting them with a range of affordable choices.

 

The current program holds a large number of cheap tickets, priced at30 yuan (US$3.5) for qualifying heats/rounds and increasing to 60 yuan (US$7) for finals. However, the prices for the road cycling and sailing events are yet to be determined.

 

BOCOG is allocating some 14 percent of all tickets to the Olympic Education Program, aiming to boost its popularity among young Chinese. As part of this plan, tickets will drop to 5 yuan (US$0.6) for qualifying rounds and 10 yuan (US$1.25) for finals.

 

"All sports fans worldwide will enjoy our low-price ticket scheme. The price is the same for everyone," said Liu Jingmin, BOCOG executive vice-president. "There are no double standards."

 

An estimated 7-8 million tickets will be made available for the 2008 Games, with around 30 percent of these earmarked for overseas sales.

 

"Since the Beijing venues have more seats than those in Athens, more tickets will be available," added Rong.

 

(China Daily March 16, 2007)