The original lottery system is more suitable for '08 Olympic
ticket sales than the "first-come-first- served" mechanism adopted
in the second phase of ticket release, Wei Jizhong, senior
consultant for the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of
the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) told the Beijing News on
November 6, 2007.
As compared with Australia and Greece, hosts of the Olympic
Games in 2000 and 2004, China has a far larger population at 1.3
billion people while the total amount of tickets remains almost the
same. Therefore, according to Wei, the same ticket sales mechanism
that went smoothly in Sydney and Athens was unsuitable for China,
where event tickets became rare goods.
On October 30 when the second phase of ticket release kicked
off, the buying spree on the Chinese mainland led to a collapse of
the ordering system and an ongoing sales suspension.
Furthermore, Wei pointed out, the "first-come-first-served"
mechanism failed to give full play to the principle of fairness,
for those without easy access to the booking system would be left
in an unfavorable situation and speculators may have more chances
of hoarding tickets.
Yesterday, BOCOG failed to publish details on how the currently
suspended ticket sales would be resumed, as previously promised.
According to Wei Jizhong, this is because BOCOG has a strong sense
of responsibility for the public and would not release a new plan
before thorough deliberation.
Currently, the committee has only said the second phase of
Olympic ticket sales would be changed into a ticket draw. Details
will most likely be released in December.
To satisfy the strong public desire for watching the Olympic
Games on site, the BOCOG senior consultant revealed that individual
buyers would be given priority over organizations in ticket sales
and there was no need for the public to feel panic about tickets
unsold.
Unlike the tickets for the Olympic opening and closing ceremony,
which are attached with the identity of the buyer, the tickets for
sporting events may be transferred freely. Ticket speculators
appeared online soon after the phase one release. On one website, a
ticket to the Games was listed as high as 150,000 yuan
(US$20,117.34).
However, not all online ticket vendors are speculating on the
Olympic ticket market. Some of them received extra tickets because
they made several applications in the ticket draw to increase their
chances of winning, and some would be unable to attend the event
for various reasons although they had successfully booked the
tickets for next August.
Nevertheless, BOCOG reminded the enthusiastic public that anyone
who managed to submit an order would eventually get the ticket in
June or July next year. Therefore, transfers of the Olympic tickets
will be allowed only after next July. Ticket speculators may face
10 to 15 days detention and a fine of up to 1,000 yuan, according
to the Law on Public Security Administration Punishments in China.
People who purchase Olympic tickets via the black market will most
likely be denied access to the Olympic Games.
(China.org.cn by Chen Xia, November 6, 2007)