Full coverage: Press conference on 3rd phase of Olympic ticket sales

Date/Time: 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, April 23

Venue: BOCOG press conference at the Beijing Olympic Media Center

Wang Hui, spokeswoman of the BOCOG

Wang Hui

Good Morning, ladies and gentlemen of the media! Now the routine press conference has been changed to the morning session because we know you have some important events to attend later today. Today's topic is very important. As you now know, the Beijing Olympic tickets have been well received by the whole world and have sold well. The first two phases have been sold, so now we will proceed to third phrase. Today we'd like to brief the journalists about the third phase. Nobody has had a chance to see the shape and format of the tickets of the Olympic Games before.

Now we have invited the following people: Mr. Zhu Yan, Director of the Ticketing Center, BOCOG; Ms. Sun Ying, Deputy Director of the Beijing International Media Center; and Mr. Wang Min, Dean of the School of Design of China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Director of the Olympic Art Center. They will have a lot to talk about. After this part of the press conference, we will address two more housekeeping topics. First, we will brief you on non-accredited journalists' accreditation work. The second topic is the Beijing Olympic 100-day countdown celebration and related activities.

First of all, I would like to give the floor to Mr. Zhu Yan. He will now brief you on phase 3 ticket sales policies.

Zhu Yan, director of Beijing Olympic Ticketing Centre

Zhu Yan

I am happy to address you about the following issues, the first is the ticketing and then together with our designers, I'd like to showcase to you the Olympic tickets. Not long from now, ticket holders will receive these tickets. Now I'd like to brief you on the first issue concerning the domestic ticket sales program and its policies.

Starting from 9am, May 5 to June 9, 2008, BOCOG will launch the the Phase-3 Domestic Olympic Ticket Sales Program. During this period, the public can buy tickets of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at designated Bank of China (BOC) ticket outlets or by logging on to the official ticketing website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The number of the ticket outlets during this stage will be fewer than that offered during the previous two phases. For further details, please log on to the official ticketing website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games or call the Olympic ticketing call centre at 952008.

Similar to the first two phases, only applications from individual buyers will be accepted during the third phase of the Program. Group applications will therefore be considered ineligible. Applicants will use their valid ID cards for registration purposes (further details are available at the official ticketing website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games). The purchase limit is two sessions per application and three tickets per session.

It is worth pointing out that tickets sold during this phase will be allocated uniformly on a real-time basis, regardless of the ticket purchase channels used. If the ticket of a certain price range requested by an applicant for a certain Olympic match is marked as available in the system, it will be reserved for the appropriate applicant for a specified period of time. In the event that the applicant fails to make the payment within the specified time limit, the ticket will be released to other applicants. Tickets for the people with disability and their companions will be sold in the manner of telephone reservation via the Gehua Ticketmaster Ticketing customer service platform.

According to BOCOG, a total of 1.38 million Olympic tickets will be released during the 3rd phase. Tickets released cover 16 Olympic sports which are subdivided into 17 disciplines and 244 matches. They include: athletics, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, canoe/kayak-flatwater, mountain bike, equestrian, football, handball, hockey, modern pentathlon, rowing, softball, marathon swimming, volleyball and wrestling. In addition, tickets of accessible seats totally 20,000 will be offered for all matches involved.

As for the Olympic ticket design, it is marked by a distinct theme and a harmonious color. The tickets are therefore ideal collectibles of the highest aesthetic values. Taking the "Cloud of Promise" as the core image, the Beijing Olympic ticket is designed to be a perfect combination of the traditional Chinese culture and the Olympic spirit.

The design of the sample ticket was initiated as early as 2006. The design has been carried out, in stylistic terms, in accordance with relevant Beijing Olympic Games image requirements and embodies a consistent adherence to the main themes of the Beijing Olympic Games – "Hi-Tech Olympics, People's Olympics, Green Olympics". Technical details of the Olympic ticket, including the format and the information shown, are configured in strict conformity with relevant regulations set out by the IOC.

In addition, information shown on the ticket of the Beijing Olympic Games is more comprehensive and easier to identify in comparison with that of previous Olympic Games, owing to a series of innovations where due emphasis has been placed on the actual conditions of China. With reference to the selection of the ticket design and printing materials, a host of experts in related fields were invited by BOCOG and a large number of dedicated debates and considerable creative endeavors have been undertaken in this regard. As a result, the Olympic ticket design showcases stylistic brevity and is emblematic of the Olympic image. Such a ticket design integrates successfully relevant aesthetic and functional considerations.

According to a source from BOCOG in charge of the Olympic ticketing program, the ticket of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games integrates various anti-counterfeiting technologies, of electronic or physical nature or otherwise, including microfiche text processing, dynamic holographic safety line and holographic dealuminzation, etc., resulting in a significantly shortened Games-time ticket verification process. Moreover, the application of these technologies is also an effective measure taken against large-scale ticket touting activities.