customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Fred Lai

Limited tickets for a series of events this weekend featuring China’s Olympic gold medallists were snapped up within a few hours by hundreds of people on Monday, reflecting the enthusiasm in Hong Kong for the chance to see the nation’s top athletes up close.
But scalpers quickly got in on the act, with some of the HK$20 admission tickets found to have been sold online for as much as 1,000 yuan (HK$1,165).
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department said it had noted the touting and would hand the case to the relevant authorities according to the evidence available.
Many of those who formed snaking queues at four ticketing venues had started lining up the day before and spent the night waiting before ticket sales began at 10am.
All 5,700 tickets on offer for the public at the official outlets in Central, Tsim Sha Tui, Sha Tin and Tuen Mun were snapped up by 1pm. Another 900 tickets were set aside for groups subsidised by the government.
Olympic fans picked up 2,400 tickets for a gala show, 2,400 for a table tennis demonstration at Queen Elizabeth Stadium and another 1,800 tickets for a diving display. Each person was allowed to buy a maximum of two tickets for two out of the three events scheduled for Sunday at HK$20 each.
In addition to the main events on the second day of their visit, which begins on Saturday, the Olympic medallists will also take part in other activities, including a meet and greet session with youngsters in Ma On Shan.
Most of those spoken to by the Post while they were waiting in line were raring to watch the national champions in action after the Rio Games.
Two elderly women who had been queuing at the Cultural Centre since 3pm on Sunday were eager to watch the diving event.
“No matter what, Chinese athletes always have my full support, even though they did not win as many gold medals as they grabbed in 2012,” one of them said.
High school students Hollie Pong and Angela Sze, both 17, joined a 700-strong line at City Hall for tickets to watch their diving idols.
“Admittedly, the Chinese Olympians’ performances in Brazil were not very satisfying,” Pong said. “We hope that they can do better next time.”

There have been concerns that growing localist sentiment could turn ugly and embarrass the national champions, contrasting with the enthusiastic welcomes they have received in the past.
The last time the city hosted the national champions in 2012, some 26,000 tickets were snapped up for the gala show, which was held at the Hong Kong Stadium with an outdoors capacity of 40,000.

This time, the show has been moved indoors and the number of tickets downsized tenfold in a 3,500-seat venue.
Asked if this had anything to do with lower expectations or the possibility of localist protests, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department cited an earlier claim by director Michelle Li Mei-sheung that it was to cater to inclement weather.
They should have spared some tickets for online purchase. People like me who have to work in the day are not able to buy tickets in person
Sports enthusiast Winnie Man
“The weather in August is sweltering and changeable. We hope that we can have a guaranteed and comfortable environment to stage the show,” she said.
Sports enthusiast Winnie Man, who had expected more tickets to be available in Central than in Tuen Mun where she works, was one of those who failed to get tickets.
“They should have spared some tickets for online purchase,” she said. “People like me who have to work in the day are not able to buy tickets in person.”
She complained that the sharp drop in the number of seats available compared with previous years had made it difficult.
The department said it wanted to avoid the risk of its URBTIX system for selling tickets online crashing from the additional load imposed by demand for the Olympic events.
The department suggested that those unable to get tickets should watch the show live on television at home.




Tsunami-hit Tonga’s oiled-up Olympic flag bearer Pita Taufatofua raises over US$340,000 in disaster aid

Former Chinese volleyball star Wei Qiuyue donates Olympic gold medal to country’s sports museum

Liu Xiaotong retires: Chinese Olympic volleyball champion to become a coach, saying ‘the thing I missed most was my passion’

Rio 2016 race walk champion Liu Hong retires after fourth place in National Games

Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Scalpers move in as Chinese gold medallist tickets sell out in three hours in Hong Kong

Despite concern that visit could backfire due to growing independence sentiment in city, fans remain eager to see their sporting idols

Citizen queue up for the tickets for Rio Olympics' Mainland gold medallists Hong Kong visit sport demonstrations and variety show at the City Hall in Central . 22AUG16 SCMP/ Nora Tam

The lengthy queue at the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

After some good, some bad and some ugly, Rio throws final party to say goodbye to 2016 Olympics

Brazil and the world bids farewell to the first Olympic Games in South America

2016 Rio Olympics - Closing ceremony - Maracana - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 21/08/2016. Performers take part in the closing ceremony. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

A photo shows a cauldron bearing the Olympic flame during the closing ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 21, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / MANAN VATSYAYANA

Athletes enter the stadium during the Closing Ceremony for the Rio 2016 Olympics at the Maracana Stadium in Rio. Photo: EPA

As the Olympic roadshow rolls out of town will Rio suffer from the after-party blues?

Neymar and Weverton took centre stage as Brazil finally won a men’s Olympic soccer gold medal. Photo: EPA

2016 Rio Olympics - Athletics - Final - Men's 4 x 100m Relay Final - Olympic Stadium - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 19/08/2016. Usain Bolt (JAM) of Jamaica celebrates winning the Jamaican team's gold medal. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

In this still image from video Olympic gold medallist swimmer Ryan Lochte of the U.S. gives an interview to Globo TV at their studios in New York City, August 20, 2016. Courtesy Globo TV via REUTERSATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. BRAZIL OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN BRAZIL. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

FILE - In this Aug. 9, 2016 file photo, a member of the media stands near a shattered window on a bus in the Deodoro area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Two windows where shattered when rocks, or possibly gunfire, hit the bus carrying journalists at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. There were no injuries. Halfway through the Olympics, Rio de Janeiro is still struggling with a litany of problems that have underlined the challenges of taking the games away from their traditional territories, and made clear the games may not go to untested regions again in the near future. (David Davies/PA via AP, File)

epa05491628 Gold medalist Thiago Braz da Silva of Brazil during the medal ceremony for the men's Pole Vault of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Athletics, Track and Field events at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 16 August 2016. EPA/BERND THISSEN

In this picture taken with a fish-eye lens, the water of the diving pool appears a murky green in the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

IOC President Thomas Bach delivers a speech during the closing ceremony in the Maracana stadium at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Echoes of China’s patriotic past in surprise volleyball win in Rio

China's women’s volleyball team celebrate their finals win over Serbia at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: Xinhua

Who needs gold when we have Fu? China’s young Olympics fans focus on fun, not medal tally

Younger generation cares more about human interest and humour than medals

Younger Chinese are happy about the volleyball victory, but unlikely to join a parade. Photo: Reuters

News

Hong Kong

Education

Despite concern that visit could backfire due to growing independence sentiment in city, fans remain eager to see their sporting idols
