Olympic ticketing policies expounded

Updated：2007-08-02

(BEIJING, August 1) -- In an exclusive interview with the official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games recently, Rong Jun, director of BOCOG Ticketing Center explained in detail the policies and procedures of ticket sale for the Games.

Payment for the first phase to be completed in September

The first phase of the ticketing process was featured by public application and lottery distribution.

The major part of the first phase wound up on June 30, when over 700,000 orders for more than five million tickets were submitted, which showed the wide interest and enthusiasm for the Olympics?

The second part of the first phase will take place in July and August. During this period, the orders will be analyzed and checked. BOCOG is expected to start the process of lottery and allocation in early August. The results will be released to the public and those who are confirmed as successful buyers will be notified through email or post. If they pay within a required time, they will finally receive their tickets.

There will be an open and fair lottery

During the first phase, any events that are oversubscribed will be subject to a lottery to decide the distribution of the tickets. This is in line with the practice of recent Olympic Games. The Beijing Olympics have been attracting much attention and the lottery process is seen as a good way to ensure an open, fair and transparent distribution of tickets

The booking data undoubtedly call for a lottery to distribute the tickets of the opening and closing ceremonies and other "hot" events. Furthermore, the lottery process shall not only target a certain event or a competition, but also specifically priced tickets. For instance, the tickets for specific seats of the opening ceremony shall be categorized to ensure their fair distribution.

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) will invite supervisors and third party notaries to witness the process, and the media will also be given an opportunity to record it.

The second phase begins in October

During the second phase, which begins in October, the ticketing principle is "First Come, First Served". The public can make bookings on line, contact BOCOG Call Center (952008) or book through the designated outlets of the Bank of China, which number over 1,000 across the country.

The Call Center, launched in March, will sell tickets from the beginning of October. Payment will be made through VISA Card. Non-VISA-Card-holders must go to Bank of China outlets to make payment. BOCOG will keep their orders for 48 hours. After that, the computer system will automatically cancel the order.

During the third phase, on-site ticketing will be launched in April 2008 to sell the remaining tickets.

Tickets can be available in June or July

The tickets booked during the first two phases are expected to be delivered to buyers in June or July next year. As most of the Olympic venues will be completed by the end of this year, the staff of the BOCOG Ticketing Center will go to every venue to check the exact seats and allocate the bookings. Then they will forward the data to the ticket printers, who are expected to print them out between April and June. That means that in June and July all effectively subscribed tickets will reach their buyers. The designated outlets of the Bank of China will be the only places where the tickets can be obtained faultlessly.

Ticket design under way

The design of the Olympic tickets is under way. Their look will be in line with the general image of the Olympic Games. The tickets show not only where the spectators will be seated, but also the sport pictograms to indicate the competitions they will watch.

The false proof technologies used make the tickets unique collection objects. The name of the spectator will be printed on the tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies, making them personalized and collectable.