104IOC Marketing Report – Beijing 2008 Chapter FiveTicketing Beijing 2008 Ticketing Programme Throughout the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, spectators were treated to some of the most memorable moments in Olympic history – in some of the most spectacular venues ever constructed for the Games. The primary goal of any Olympic ticketing programme is to give as many people as possible the chance to experience the Olympic Games. Beijing 2008 saw an unprecedented percentage of tickets being sold, as spectators flocked to events to witness the unique spectacle of the Games. In total, 6.8 million tickets were made available for Beijing 2008 – 1.5 million more than Athens – in impressive venues such as the Bird's Nest stadium and the Water Cube, and other venues in Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shenyang, Tianjin, Qingdao and Hong Kong.  Of the 6.8 million tickets that were available, more than 6.5 million were sold.  Incredibly, over 99% of the tickets were sold for Olympic events held within Beijing, far exceeding the previous record of 92.4% that had been set at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games for events held within Sydney.  Including the co- host cities for the football, equestrian and sailing events, 95.6% of Beijing 2008 tickets were sold overall. " The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games ticket sales programme was a huge success, with phenomenal demand both here in China and around the world." Rong Jun, Deputy Director, BOCOG Ticketing Centre