Ticket Sales, Redux: Lottery Set For Dec. 10

THE Beijing Olympics committee has replaced the director of its ticketing operations in the fallout of a fiasco in October, when the Olympics ticketing system crashed after kicking off a critical second phase of sales.

Domestic Olympics ticket sales will resume Dec. 10 in the form of a lottery, with no preference for those who apply early, to prevent a repeat of the Oct. 30 crash, Beijing Olympics officials said.

The original system, through which China residents could buy tickets online or at designated Bank of China branches on a first-come, first-served basis, buckled under heavy traffic when millions of ticket buyers tried to access the site all at once.

Zhu Yan, the new director, declined to say whether his predecessor, Rong Jun, was fired for mishandling the October sale.

He also said the committee has reduced the maximum number of tickets that individuals can buy from 50 to eight, or a maximum of four tickets to each of two different events.

'We've listened to everyone's comments [following the crash] and . . . we want more people to have a chance to attend,' Mr. Zhu said. Though he wouldn't give an exact number for how many tickets are available for the remainder of this phase, he anticipates there will be at least 1.8 million.

In total, more than seven million tickets are available for the Olympic Games, with about 75% having been reserved for domestic sale. (Tickets available for other countries are distributed through official sellers designated by those countries' national Olympics committees.)

The system failure highlighted the need for better ticketing technology in China, which is hosting an increasing number of high-profile events, from next year's Olympics to pop-star concerts and Broadway shows. A number of ticketing companies are working to develop better sales-and-distribution methods. But for now the Olympics committee has opted to return to the lottery system used during the first phase of ticketing sales earlier this year.

The original system, which failed under too much traffic and possibly a faulty link between the Olympics Web site and the Beijing Olympic committee's ticketing system, stopped working just after sales started at 9 a.m. on Oct. 30, disappointing ticket buyers throughout the country who were lined up as early as 2:30 a.m. The ticketing system was intended to be a major debut for IAC/InterActiveCorp's Ticketmaster, which won the contract with Bocog, as the Beijing Olympic committee is known, last year and has been expanding its presence in China.

The Chinese government's Xinhua news agency reported at the time that the Olympics Web site received eight million hits in the first hour after sales started, with more than 200,000 orders received every second before it crashed. Committee officials later said the system was designed to handle 150,000 ticket sales per hour.

The system was able to sell 9,000 tickets before the system crashed that day, Xinhua reported. Since then, ticket buyers who were able to complete the registration process on the Olympics Web site have been given a chance to complete their purchases before the lottery commences.

Once the lottery starts, ticket buyers can submit their applications for tickets 'at a leisurely pace,' Mr. Zhu said. The lottery system will ensure that tickets will be distributed randomly, without giving preference to those who submit their applications first.

Ticket requests should be submitted through Bocog's Web site at one of 1,000 designated Bank of China branches in China until Dec. 30. Participants will be notified when lottery results are available, and the payment process will be handled by the Bank of China. Customers will be able to check the status of lottery and payment results from the official ticketing Web site or by calling the ticket center.

'Olympics tickets sales should be a fair and transparent process,' a Bocog spokesman said.

10月份，北京奥运会票务系统在至关重要的第二阶段门票发售过程中崩溃，这场惨败过后，北京奥组委(BOCOG)更换了票务中心主任。

北京奥组委官员表示，中国国内的奥运会门票销售将于12月10日恢复，采用订单提交不分先后，随机抽签的方式进行，以免重蹈10月30日系统崩溃的覆辙。

根据原先系统的要求，中国居民通过网络或在指定的中国银行(Bank of China)网点依据“先到先得”的原则购票，当数百万购票者试图在同一时间登录售票站点时，过大的流量令售票系统陷于瘫痪。

新上任的票务中心主任朱炎拒绝透露他的前任容军是否因10月份门票销售工作不力而遭免职。

朱炎还表示，奥组委已经将个人最多可购买的票数从50张减少到8张，即每人限购两场不同场次比赛、每场最多4张。

朱炎指出：“系统崩溃后我们听取了各方意见，我们希望更多的人能有机会参与奥运。”虽然他不肯透露当前阶段待售门票的确切数目，但他预计至少有180万张。

奥运会门票共有700多万张，其中75%左右留作国内发售。（奥运会门票的境外销售工作由当地奥委会指定的官方销售点负责。）

这次系统崩溃凸显出中国的票务技术亟待改进；中国正在越来越频繁地举办大型活动，从明年的奥运会到流行歌星演唱会，再到百老汇演出等等不一而足。许多票务公司都在努力开发更好的销售和配送方式。不过眼下，北京奥组委决定重走老路，再次采用今年早些时候的第一阶段门票发售中所用的抽签系统。

原先的系统不仅无力负担过大流量，而且在奥运会网站和北京奥组委的票务系统之间似乎也出现了链接错误，10月30日上午9点第二阶段售票工作刚刚启动该系统就停止了工作，令早在凌晨2：30就开始排队的全国各地购票者大失所望。这一票务系统本来是IAC/InterActiveCorp旗下Ticketmaster的首次重大亮相，这家一直在华大力拓展业务的公司去年赢得了与北京奥委会的合同。

中国官方媒体新华社当时报道称，奥运会网站在门票销售开始后的1个小时内点击量达到了800万次，在系统崩溃前每秒收到订单20万张。奥委会官员后来称，系统的设计工作能力为每小时发售15万张门票。

据新华社报道，当天系统崩溃前发售了9000张门票。此后，已在奥运会网站上注册完毕的购票者可以在抽签前完成购票程序。

朱炎说，抽签开始后，购票者就可以从容地提交他们的购票申请。抽签系统会保证门票随机发售，不会优先给先提交申请的购票者。

购票者应于12月30日前通过奥运会官方票务网站或1000家中国银行指定网点提交申请。抽签结果会通知购票者，付款程序将由中国银行负责。顾客可以通过官方票务网站或拨打票务中心电话查询抽签情况及付款结果。

北京奥组委一位发言人说：“奥运会门票销售过程应该公平、透明。”

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