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(Totally Shameless) Thursday Timewaster: We are SWEDISH HEROES
Threesday: How globalized Shanghai remains Chinese
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Representing Singapore at the Expo: DURIAN STAR
Before the games started, buying Olympics tickets was thought to be impossible and/or vastly expensive- instead it seems to be easier than getting a table at Spicy Joint.
Writing from Beijing 2008 with a fistful of used ticket stubs, and a pocketful of money left over to buy more, Ben Ross gives these tips on finding seats for the last few days:
- Pick an event and show up at the venue an hour early.
- Arrive at the event knowing you may be walking around aimlessly for the next hour or two scavenging for a ticket. Patience is a must.
- Be aware that there is probably a 15% chance you will not get in to the event at all. more if Kobe, Yao Ming, Phelps, or
Liu Xiangwill be competing that day. - Find an area near one of the gates where spectators who have just arrived are walking in.
- If you see more than one yellow bull (the Chinese term for a ticket scalper / tout) in the vicinity, find a new location.
- Know the price of a face value ticket, and have the money (exact change) in hand ready to pay.
- Approach people heading towards the venue, and politely ask them if they have an extra ticket to sell. It doesn’t hurt to emphasize the fact that you actually want to see the event
- If the event has already started and you still don’t have a ticket, don’t panic. From the minute the competition starts, the value of tickets drops rapidly.
- Go alone. Olympic tickets were originally sold in pairs, Finding two tickets together is hard, three or more tickets virtually impossible. For some more low-demand events (i.e. baseball and beach volleyball) you can usually sit wherever you want once you enter the stadium.
Full post, and more from Beijing here
Our own experience from Beijing suggests that hanging out in bars brings rewards, particularly a bar called Old Town Roses which seemed to be the HQ of some kind of ticket agency.
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What a crock! This makes it sound like there are only sneaky men in long dark trench coats selling tickets in back alleys. We bought tickets for 5 events in less than than10 minutes each time. There are multiple tickets from scores of sellers at every event we went to. We even bought tickets to US/Spain basketball on the street before the game. Police were everywhere and ONLY worried about fakes--they told us that as did all of the sellers we asked (yes, I speak Chinese).
Here's the real how to list:
1. Ask the policeman on the corner who is selling real tickets. He'll shrug and then point to a couple of people sitting on the curb outside the venue. He's only worried about terrorism and fakes.
2. Bargain for the tickets and pay with whatever cash you have--or walk with the seller to the closest ATM. Don't worry about "correct change" as you'll be buying tickets in multiples of 50 or 100 anyway. The math is pretty easy.
3. Have as many people with you as are going into the event and buy as many tickets as you need. As soon as you start bargaining you'll draw a crowd anyway so limiting your numbers beforehand is silly. Besides, the policeman can help you out if there are any issues. Buy two tickets here, one there, another couple over there; remember you can easily sit wherever you want when you get inside since none (not even basketball) of the events are full.
4. Have the seller walk with you to the ticket lines so that you can see him when you scan your tickets (just to confirm it's real).
5. Have fun.
OK OK- Ben's original post is pretty much about how to score tickets for face value- just getting them off people who have 1 or 2 spare and avoiding the touts.
Sorry, I guess I didn't make that clear above.
All of your points are totally valid if you don't mind paying more than face value. Thanks for the additional tips.
The great thing I found re: counterfeits was that the security scanning is done before you get anywhere near the Olympic Green.
If there was just a quick visual check before you get onto subway line 8, with the proper security being at the venues then fakes would be everywhere. The way it is now, though I waited with the guy until my friends were in and then gave him the cash and the only people I heard of being scammed bought their tickets before they got to China.
How much did you pay for USA v Spain?
We paid $200 US per ticket for the US/Spain game. One guy asked for $1000. We never saw anyone selling tickets for face value or even close.
I agree, the scanners were a great help in making sure the tickets were real.
I had a different experience. I was able to get a pair of Y800-each side-by-side front row tickets at the Bird's Nest on August 18th for only Y1000 each. I went two hours before the event and found literally dozens of people clustered around the southwest corner outside of the Olympic Green.
Photos on my site.
I heard $1000 quoted for a basketball ticket, (presumably for that game) when I was at the ticket agency.
Cheers Michael, that southwest corner is different to the place I was looking for tickets.
I don't remember hearing a single story about people going to Beijing and not being able to get tickets for anything. Everyone has come back with good stories and memories.
Anyone reading this who is sitting on the fence about whether or not to take a trip this weekend- I say go for it.
Here is a report about foreigners deported for tickets scalping.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=57e38e68-1135-47b2-8f76-ada9e2356789Beijingolympics2008_Special&&Headline=China+deporting+foreigners+for+ticket+scalping