The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) on Wednesday revealed
details of its affordable ticketing program. Following is an
interview by Xinhua News Agency with BOCOG officials:
Q: How do you compare the ticket prices of the Beijing
Olympic Games with that of previous Games?
A: Every organizing committee for the Olympic
Games has to consider the affordability of the local people. China
is a developing country, and our annual income is less than that of
people in both Sydney and Athens.
Compared to the previous Games, prices of the tickets for the
Beijing Games are significantly less. The highest price for an
Opening Ceremony ticket is half of that for the last Games, and the
lowest is only one fifth. For normal competitions, prices of the
tickets, both the highest and the lowest, are only one third of
those in Athens.
Q: Are all competition sessions priced?
A: The Beijing Olympic Games will feature 28
sports and 302 events with different audience expectation. Some
sessions will not require tickets, such as road cycling, walking
and the marathon, as these events will be open to spectators. We
currently have 240 pricing categories for the tickets and are still
discussing ticket policies for some specific events.
Q: Will there be any free tickets, tickets for staff or
discounted tickets?
A: There won't be any free tickets, tickets for
staff or discounted tickets. BOCOG has put a ticketing policy in
place in order to ensure that tickets are potentially accessible to
everyone. We have even developed a special program to allow the
Chinese students to attend the Games.
Q: Will over 7 million tickets be sold to the
public?
A: We have a quota in place. Domestic public
have access to at least 50% of the tickets available, which is
higher than recent Games.
According to the Olympic Games conventions, tickets are sold
worldwide.
In addition to tickets for the domestic and international
markets, BOCOG will also sell tickets to the IOC, NOCs, IFs,
sponsors and broadcasters.
We have a preliminary quota for different market segments and
the final plan will be published after approval by the IOC.
Q: How are the other seats allocated apart from the 7
million selling tickets?
A: BOCOG has seat allocations for the media who
will report the Games. We have also allocated tickets for the
athletes who are not to compete then and there. However, BOCOG will
make every effort to sell as many tickets as possible.
Q: Will electronic tickets be used for the Beijing
Olympic Games?
A: To reflect the theme of a "High-Tech Olympics", we are
working with our ticketing partner and sponsors to apply high-
technology in the ticketing process.
(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2006)