Beijing: Olympics organisers have suspended the sale of tickets in the second round after frenzied demand caused the booking system to collapse.
Nearly 1.85 million tickets were up for sale but overwhelmed by the number of people eager to buy, the system collapsed, leaving thousands disappointed.

Tickets for the 2008 Games were for sale through the booking website, a hotline and designated branches of Bank of China in the second batch yesterday.

"Because of the overwhelming volume of page visits, the technical system was unable to perform the tasks well enough, and many applicants were unable to successfully submit their applications," the organisers said.

The Beijing Organising Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) said in a statement today domestic ticket sales had been "temporarily halted" to improve the technical plan. New ticketing information would be announced on November 5.

"We sincerely apologise to the public," it added.

The official ticketing website saw eight million hits in the first hour starting 9 a.M., while the ticketing hotline received 3.8 million calls yesterday, according to the ticketing centre. Only some 9,000 tickets were sold in two hours.

Seven million tickets are on sale for the Games, 75 per cent earmarked for domestic sale.

In the first round, 1.6 million tickets were allotted through a lottery. In the third phase from April to August next year, tickets will be sold on first come first serve basis.
Source : PTI