Frenzy in Beijing over tickets to Olympic Games

Beijing police found it difficult to control the large and impatient crowds, reportedly of up to 50,000 people, who were waiting to buy some of the last tickets available to the Olympic Games late last week. A journalist from Hong Kong who was covering the scene was detained by police, according to a reporter for The Irish Times.

With just under two weeks before the opening of the Beijing Olympics, the city has been gripped by excitement about the international event, which marks the emergence of China on the world’s stage. The frenzy accompanying the final release of tickets to the events is a sign of local enthusiasm.

When the announcement was made that the tickets would be on sale, many would-be buyers queued for two days, in spite of the high temperatures and high level of air pollution. Trouble broke out when a number of impatient locals tried to jump the queue. Police were forced to react when a crowd ran toward the ticket counter.

Two hundred fifty thousand tickets went on sale at 9 a.m. Beijing time for athletics, diving and gymnastics events.

The demand for tickets was so great that more than 10,000 people were reported to have queued outside Beijing’s Olympic Sports Centre as day before the tickets went on sale, according to the capital’s police.

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