The third round of Olympic ticket sales, the first to issue actual tickets,
starts with reports of further problems with the online system, despite
guarantees it had been repaired since crashing in the second round.
BEIJING, CHINA (MAY 5, 2008) REUTERS -
The third round of Olympic ticket sales started on Monday (May 5),
with reports from internet users of further problems with the online system
despite guarantees that it had been improved since it crashed during the
second round.
This is the first time real paper tickets have been issued after their
design was unveiled last month. The tickets, which feature images of the
Olympic venues, have a range of high-tech features to prevent fraud and
copying.
A total of 1.38 million tickets were to be released in the third
round of ticket sales for 16 sports, including boxing, soccer, baseball, beach
volleyball and wrestling. Judging by ticket availability, soccer tickets in
particular seemed to be in high demand.
Mr. Wang, an 18-year-old soccer fan, finally got tickets after queuing
all night outside the Bank of China, the official outlet for the tickets.
"I am really happy. I have waited since 9 p.m. last night so I'm
very happy to get tickets. I think I am incredibly lucky," Wang said.
The former director of the Beijing Olympic Ticketing Centre was sacked
in November after the online system collapsed due to overwhelming demand
almost immediately after the second round of sales began.
The Beijing Olympic Games Organising Committee (BOCOG) had promised
there would be no repeat of the problems that had marred previous ticket
sales. However, online chat files and blog comments on Monday showed that
ticket buyers were having problems completing online purchases.
While people were able to log on to the website and select tickets
fairly easily, they could not reach the final payment page, and were directed
to a message apologising for being unable to process the purchase.
Xu Chen, General Manager of the Bank of China Olympic Affairs
Department, explained the problems in the last round had been due to
unexpectedly high demand, and said they were not expected to reoccur.
"Last time demand exceeded the system's ability by eight times
and so the system got blocked. That is quite natural. After that, the Beijing
Olympic Games Organising Committee made an announcement that they would revise
the ticketing system. Their decision was very timely and very
successful," Xu said.
In the first three hours of the October sale, the site had received 20
million hits, BOCOG said. As a result of the system crash, only 43,000 of the
1.85 million tickets reserved for the second round were allocated.
Xu said that of the 66,000 tickets already sold in the current round by
10 a.m. on Monday morning, 43,000 were purchased online and 22,000 in banks
themselves without the buyer going online first.
However, many hopeful ticket buyers decided not to book online
following the chaos in the last round. Tai Yuxing, a 25-year-old who also
started queuing the night before, said online booking was too much hassle.
"Because there are a lot of internet users, some say you need a
computer but I think you can'tdo it. I tried but it was too slow and I
couldn't do it. But if I come directly to the Bank of China and am the first
person in line, my chances are very high," Tai said.
In the queue to enter the ticketing area at around noon, some said they
had been waiting since 5 a.m.
Chinese enthusiasm for the Olympics has been undiminished by
demonstrations on the international leg of the torch relay and calls for a
boycott of the opening ceremony following China's crackdown on protests in
Tibet.
Patriotic Chinese have staged pro-China demonstrations throughout China
and the world, expressing their wholehearted support for the August Games.
Around two-thirds of the seven million tickets available to the public
for the Games have been sold already.
