Ticket prices at the 2008 Beijing Olympics will start from as low as 30 yuan (US$3.82) when they go on sale next year.
More than 7 million tickets will be available for sale next year, ranging in price from 30 yuan to 5,000 yuan (US$638), the Beijing Organizing Committee (BOCOG) said in a statement yesterday.
BOCOG said 58 percent of all the tickets would cost 100 yuan or less, in line with efforts to make the Olympics affordable to average Chinese citizens. Details of the ticketing program, including where they will be available, will be released next year.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it wants to ensure the tickets are not priced out of the range of a typical Chinese fan, while BOCOG said it had to reflect "the characteristics of both the Olympic Games and their host country."
According to the National Statistics Bureau, the average monthly wage for an urban Beijing resident last year was 2,500 yuan. Beijing and Shanghai residents are the richest in the country, and make drastically more than rural workers who average about 3,255 yuan a year.
The most expensive tickets will be for the opening ceremony on the evening of Aug. 8, which will cost 5,000 yuan. The cheapest tickets for that event will be 200 yuan.
Ticket prices for the closing ceremony will range from 150 yuan to 3,000 yuan.
"China is a developing country, and the income of the general public is lower than that of Sydney and Athens," BOCOG said, adding the highest priced ticket for the opening ceremony would be 50 percent less than the highest priced ticket in Athens.
Ticket prices for one of the 28 sports will range from 30 yuan and 1,000 yuan, about 30 percent of the cost of an Athens games ticket in 2004, it said.
BOCOG said about 14 percent of the available tickets would be reserved for Chinese students, and that the domestic general public will have access to least 50 percent of all available tickets. The rest will go to sponsors, the IOC, national Olympic bodies and international sports federations.
"The IOC is very pleased that BOCOG has found an affordable ticketing program which will maximize the opportunity for the Chinese public to enjoy the Games, whilst balancing with interest from the international community," the IOC said in the statement.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
Defender Steph Catley says her UEFA Women’s Champions League title win with Arsenal last week will act as motivation to secure continental glory with Australia when the country hosts the Women’s Asian Cup next year. Catley and compatriots Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross were part of the Arsenal squad that defeated Barcelona in Lisbon on Sunday last week, before flying to Melbourne to feature in the Matildas’ 2-0 win over Argentina on Friday. The game was the first in a two-match series against the South Americans as the Australians continue preparations for the continental championship in March next year, when they would
RSS