Thaindian News

By Rahul Vaishnavi
(Attn Editors: This is the eighth of the 100-day countdown series for the 19th Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. The piece is on Australia, Britain and African countries buying tickets for the mega event.)

New Delhi, July 7 (IANS) With less than three months to go for the Commonwealth Games, Australia and Britain have made a beeline for the counters as have African countries. About 17 lakh tickets are up for grabs, of which around 29,000 have been sold.

“Australia and England are the two countries which have bought the most number of tickets,” said a senior official of the Games organising committee.

According to the official, tickets worth Rs.7 crore have been sold through retail shops and online.

African nations have not disappointed either as there has been a “great response” from countries like Tanzania, Namibia and Zambia. “We are very satisfied,” the official added.

There are 71 countries participating in the Games scheduled Oct 3-14, of which 26 have an option to buy tickets from general sales agents. People in the remaining countries can buy tickets online by providing identity proofs.

Ticket sales in international markets began in November last year.

On the other hand, tickets in India are being sold at various retail shops, ticketing call centre 1800-200-1294 and also through the official website www.tickets.cwgdelhi2010.

The tickets are being sold at 12 retail shops in the national capital region (NCR), of which seven are Central Bank of India branches while the remaining five are Hero Honda showrooms. As many as 18 more outlets will be opened in the coming days, the official said.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has been appointed as the official ticketing agency for the Games, while Broadway and Ticket Pro will manage the call centre and provide technical services.

To a question that tickets could be black marketed, the organising committee official said: “There may be some cases of black marketing, but it is for Delhi Police to investigate. On our part, we have got the tickets printed on special paper at the Currency Note Press, Nashik, where Indian currency notes are printed.”

As of now, spectators buying tickets are provided with a confirmation voucher, which will be exchanged for actual tickets beginning Aug 1, when people can start getting actual tickets against every purchase.

From Oct 2, tickets can be bought at the Games venues too.

To avoid duplicate tickets, the paper has a bar code, an invisible logo of the Commonwealth Games, a security thread and other features which will make them impossible to replicate.

“Furthermore, the tickets will be exchanged with vouchers as late as possible, so that there is not much time to copy them. Moreover, only two tickets will be sold per person,” the official added.

While ticket prices for sporting events range from Rs.50 to Rs.1,000, those for the opening ceremony have been pegged from Rs.1,000 to Rs.50,000. The ticket prices for the closing ceremony is fixed between Rs.750 and Rs.50,000.

The official said each ticket holder can travel free of charge by Delhi Metro and government-run Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses to reach and return from the venue on the day of the event.

Also, the Games ticket will have a map indicating approach roads, starting time, security procedures and dos and don’ts.