The first phase of ordering of tickets for the 2008 Beijing Olympics finishes on Saturday, with the 26,000 opening ceremony tickets allocated to Chinese being ordered.

 

Just one in 15 Chinese mainlanders who have applied for the opening or closing ceremony tickets will be able to get a ticket.

 

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games said more than 360,000 orders for at least 2.2 million tickets have been received since bookings opened in mid-April. Most bidders want to witness the ceremonies which will be held at the National Stadium.

 

Tickets will be allocated by a lottery, and the 26,000 allocated seats can only meet a small part of the huge demand.

 

From Sunday, the ticket center will figure out the volumes of ticket orders for single events.

 

Tickets could be booked online, through Bank of China branches across the country, and also in person at official Olympics information centers.

 

(CRI July 1, 2007)