Olympic tickets go on sale next month

BEIJING: Organisers of August's Beijing Olympics announced on Wednesday that the third round of domestic ticket sales will start from May 5 and close June 9. A total of 1.38 million tickets will be put on sale for 16 sports, including athletics, boxing, basketball, football.

Buyers are allowed to purchase a maximum of six tickets -- three tickets each for two session -- but they could buy six more once payment is made. Ticket will be sold on a 'first come, first served' basis at Bank of China outlets and on the official ticketing website, Zhu Yan, head of the Olympics ticketing centre, told a press conference.

"There are roughly 100 days to go before the Games open. We don't have enough time for a lottery draw," said Zhu. He promised that the meltdown of the booking system, which disrupted the earlier round of ticket sales would not happen again. The design for the tickets has drawn on the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, and the "Cloud of Promise" as the main visual elements, said Zhu.