新闻背景:根据北京奥运会票务计划,从即日起,总数超过700万张的北京奥运会门票开始接受公众预订。其中,北京奥运会门票国内销售的部分约占75%,海外销售部分约占25%。
Tickets
for the Beijing 2008 Olympics went on sale today to Chinese citizens at
prices ranging from $4 to $650, with features to prevent fraud and ticket
touting. Beijing's Olympic Committee officials say the price range means
the majority of Chinese can afford to attend the games. Daniel Schearf
reports from Beijing.
The Beijing Olympic Committee on Sunday announced
more than seven million tickets are on sale for the 2008 games. The
tickets will be offered in three phases, the first starting today.
Tickets can be purchased online or over the phone with a credit card
and, in China, at Bank of China branches. Each ticket will have a digital
chip that identifies the purchaser to prevent re-selling the much sought
after tickets and to help identify counterfeits.
Officials said block ticket sales would be limited to corporate
sponsors and youth groups while individuals could purchase only one ticket
each for lead events, such as the opening ceremony, and only a few for
less popular events.
Wang Wei, the executive vice president of the
Beijing Olympic Committee, told journalists in a live broadcast Sunday
that the system would ensure fair distribution.
"[We will] respect international practice and in line with Olympic
operation standards and China's situation, have fair and just, open and
transparent ticket sales," said Wang.
Concerns had been raised that ordinary Chinese would not have access to
or be able to afford the Olympics. Most Chinese live in the countryside
where average annual incomes are around $463, less than a third of what
city dwellers earn.
Wang says the range of ticket prices is reasonable and acceptable for
the majority of Chinese.
"The biggest challenge is satisfying the vast public's desire to attend
the Olympics," he added. "This is the Beijing Olympic Committee's ticket
servicing principle and objective."
Olympic Committee officials say 75 percent of tickets will be set aside
for Chinese sports fans and 25 percent for other nationalities. If an
event were over-booked, random computerized booking would allocate
tickets.
Distribution of tickets in countries outside China is the
responsibility of National Olympics Committees.
Organizers are expecting to earn about $140 million from ticket sales,
a fraction of the billions of dollars being spent by Beijing on hosting
the Games. |