China claims a first as Olympic tickets sell out

ALL tickets to Olympic events in Beijing have been sold, organisers said yesterday, putting the games on course to be the first to sell out.
Li Dan, an official with the organisers' ticketing centre, says a limited number of tickets for Olympic football matches in other cities outside the capital are still available but every other event was full.

About 30,000 people swarmed a Beijing ticketing centre on Friday as the final batch of tickets went on sale. Police shoved and kicked at the crowd, using metal barricades to prevent a stampede.

In all, 6.8 million Olympic tickets have been available for domestic and foreign sales.

The 2004 Athens Olympics sold only about two-thirds of 5.3 million tickets available, and there were many empty seats. The most expensive tickets in Beijing are for the 8 August opening ceremony, which cost £328.

Published Date: 29 July 2008 By Margaret Neighbour