BEIJING 2008: Games Tickets Go On Sale!

he Organising Committee for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) has announced the start of ticket sales to the general public for the 2008 Games. Fans living outside China can order tickets through their own National Olympic Committee or its designated ticketing agent, while fans living in the territory of the Chinese National Olympic Committee can order through a number of different channels. BOCOG announced the ticket prices for the Games last November and fans can now apply to get their place to see their favourite sports at the 2008 Games.

Channels
Fans living in the People’s Republic of China have a number of options when it comes to buying tickets: they can apply either through BOCOG’s official ticketing website, by calling the BOCOG ticketing call centre (+86-10-952008), or through designated Bank of China branches. For spectators who live outside the territory covered by the Chinese National Olympic Committee, they can apply for tickets through their own National Olympic Committee or its designated ticketing agent.

Phases
For spectators living in the territory of the Chinese National Olympic Committee, the Games’ ticket sales process will have three phases. Phase One, which will run until the end of September 2007, will see potential buyers apply, until 30 June 2007, for about 50% of the domestically available tickets, and requests will then be compared to the number of tickets available during the second half of this phase. If there is over-demand, a process of random selection will be used to identify the lucky recipients of tickets. Phase two will run from October to December 2007 and will see the remainder of the domestic tickets plus the remaining tickets from phase one put on sale on a “first come, first served” basis. The final phase will run from April 2008 until Games time and will see the remaining tickets sold and issued directly upon payment.

For more information on ticket sales visit BOCOG’s official ticketing website.