On the morning of November 5, China.org.cn learned that the
second phase of Olympic ticket sales would be changed into a
ticket draw.
Each person submitting the application has an equal chance, and
the first-come-first-served mechanism has been cancelled. The
booking application may be submitted any time from December 10 to
30. More details will be issued later today.
At about 9:00 on this morning, China.org.cn called the Olympic
Booking hotline 010-952008, the automatic message revealed the
above information, and later an employee answered the phone and
confirmed the reverted lottery system.
The second phase of Olympic tickets sales began on October 30
with the tickets allocated on a "first-come, first-served basis",
causing the collapse of the booking system. Later the Beijing
Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) suspended
ticket sales. BOCOG made an apology to the public and also
disclosed that the new ticket reservation method would be announced
on November 5.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Ming'ai, November 5, 2007)