Gunilla Lindberg, secretary general of the Association of National Olympic Committees, says most NOCs will now receive more tickets for the Beijing Olympics. (ATR/M.Bisson)More 2008 Tickets for NOCs
BOCOG has bowed to pressure from the International Olympic Committee and national Olympic committees to provide a bigger allocation of tickets for the Summer Games.
In response to the outcry from NOCs over the amount of tickets previously allotted to them, Beijing organizers have now made a total of 1 million tickets available. This is an increase of some 250,000 on plans announced in spring last year.
Gunilla Lindberg, secretary general of the Association of National Olympic Committees, tells Around the Rings that most NOCs that had requested a bigger allocation of tickets would now get what they asked for.
“We can never satisfy everybody because of the big interest for Beijing but I think at least everyone has received the same ticket allocation as the previous summer Games,” she said.
Lindberg and her IOC colleagues pressed BOCOG officials for a new ticketing distribution plan on a trip to Beijing two weeks ago.
BOCOG has since sent letters to all NOCs informing them of their ticketing allocation. Itmay still be difficult to get a ticket into the Water Cube. (Getty Images)
“Everybody will complain until the end, but at least I think now it has been a fair procedure and BOCOG has done what it can,” said Lindberg, a speaker at the autonomy of sport conference in Lausanne.
But Lindberg says that there are still ticketing issues for swimming competitions at Beijing's Water Cube.
“With swimming it's a catastrophe,” she said, noting that there is a smaller than expected number of tickets for NOCs due to the configuration of seating at the venue.
Hein Verbruggen, head of the IOC coordination commission for Beijing, was in the Chinese capital last week and insists the main concerns of the NOCs have been resolved with more tickets allocated than for Athens 2004.
“The problem is that many more NOCs have asked for tickets than before... it's close to 150 NOCs and also the federations are asking for more tickets,” he tells ATR, noting that NOCs tend to request tickets for the same events which exacerbates the problems.
“Things are much improved. But you can't make everybody 100 percent happy,” he said.
NOCs will have the chance to further debate the issues at the ANOC General Assembly in April when a presentation on ticketing for the Olympics is planned.
EOC Gears up for Brussels Operation
“We'll have a meeting in Brussels in early March to put the whole thing together and commit to an opening date in April,” says EOC President Patrick Hickey. (ATR) The president of the European Olympic Committees says plans are on schedule to launch the new-look EOC/IOC Brussels liaison office in April.
On Monday, Patrick Hickey met with IOC officials and representatives of the French and German NOCs who currently use the office to advance plans for the office project.
“We're moving forward well and there's great cooperation from everybody,” he tells ATR in Lausanne.
The liaison office will be used to step up lobbying on sports issues at the European Parliament. Following the provision of sport in the Lisbon Treaty, it is seen as an important component in maintaining the autonomy of the Olympic Movement.
Homepage photo by Getty Images
Written by Mark Bisson
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