Beijing announced Wednesday that beginning July 25 the remaining 820,000 tickets for the Olympic Games will be sold at venue ticket booths daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The fourth phase of tickets sales will be open to individuals rather than groups, and will be available at ticket booths of the Olympic venues. Payment can be by cash or a Visa card. Only two tickets per session will be available for purchase each time to give more people an opportunity to purchase tickets. More information is available at www.tickets.beijing2008.cn.
Fireworks during the Opening Ceremony of the Games will be displayed above the main stadium, Olympic Forest Park and the Juyongguan section of the Great Wall. Wang Hung, deputy director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies Department of BOCOG said “for the first time the shape of the Olympic Rings will be formed in the sky”. To reflect the “Green Olympics” concept, some of the fireworks will use less smoking powder to minimize smoke and dust pollution, he said. He told a press conference Wednesday, “the fireworks will be dazzling of different combinations lasting 20 minutes”, adding that more than two years were spent working on the fireworks plan so that it could reflect the Olympic ideals and help create “joyous and festive atmosphere of jubilation” for the Olympics. During the climax of the display there will be 2008 pictures of smiling faces selected from around the world. Deng Shaohui, deputy director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, said that drizzle will not affect the fireworks, but a heavier shower would cause the display to be cancelled.
Dong Qijun of Beijing’s urban management bureau, said Wednesday that hawkers, open-air grills and night food stalls will be banned around Olympic venues and embassies during the Games. There will also be crackdowns on the illegal use of motorcycles and rickshaws, and posting or spraying ads, in order to improve the environment. Airports, Tian’anmen Square, major commercial areas and tourist attractions would also be monitored he said, and the bureau will deploy vehicles equipped with surveillance facilities for monitoring purposes.
