TigerEROS
Nov 29th, 2006, 03:37 PM
Nov. 29, 2006. 02:23 PM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIJING — Ticket prices at the 2008 Beijing Olympics will range from $3.82 to $638 (all figures U.S.) when they go on sale next year.
More than seven million tickets will be available, with 58 per cent costing $12.75 or less, the Beijing Organizing Committee said in a statement Wednesday. The pricing is in line with efforts to make the Olympics affordable to average Chinese citizens, the committee said.
Details of the program, including where tickets will be available, will be released next year.
The International Olympic Committee has said it wants to ensure the tickets are not priced out of the range of a typical Chinese fan, while Beijing officials 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 $365. Beijing and Shanghai residents are the richest in the country, and make drastically more than rural workers who average about $417 a year.
The most expensive tickets will be for the opening ceremony on Aug. 8. The least expensive tickets for that event will be $25.
Ticket prices for the closing ceremony will range from $19 to $382.
"China is a developing country, and the income of the general public is lower than that of Sydney and Athens," the organizing committe said, adding the highest priced ticket for the opening ceremony would be 50 per cent less than the highest priced ticket in Athens.
Ticket prices for one of the 28 sports will range from $3.82 to $127.50, about 30 per cent of the cost of an Athens Games ticket in 2004, Beijing organizers said.
The organizing committee said about 14 per cent of the available tickets would be reserved for Chinese students, and that the domestic general public will have access to least 50 per cent 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.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIJING — Ticket prices at the 2008 Beijing Olympics will range from $3.82 to $638 (all figures U.S.) when they go on sale next year.
More than seven million tickets will be available, with 58 per cent costing $12.75 or less, the Beijing Organizing Committee said in a statement Wednesday. The pricing is in line with efforts to make the Olympics affordable to average Chinese citizens, the committee said.
Details of the program, including where tickets will be available, will be released next year.
The International Olympic Committee has said it wants to ensure the tickets are not priced out of the range of a typical Chinese fan, while Beijing officials 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 $365. Beijing and Shanghai residents are the richest in the country, and make drastically more than rural workers who average about $417 a year.
The most expensive tickets will be for the opening ceremony on Aug. 8. The least expensive tickets for that event will be $25.
Ticket prices for the closing ceremony will range from $19 to $382.
"China is a developing country, and the income of the general public is lower than that of Sydney and Athens," the organizing committe said, adding the highest priced ticket for the opening ceremony would be 50 per cent less than the highest priced ticket in Athens.
Ticket prices for one of the 28 sports will range from $3.82 to $127.50, about 30 per cent of the cost of an Athens Games ticket in 2004, Beijing organizers said.
The organizing committee said about 14 per cent of the available tickets would be reserved for Chinese students, and that the domestic general public will have access to least 50 per cent 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.