Hundreds of irate rugby fans were turned away empty-handed at the public sale for Hong Kong Sevens tickets yesterday at Hong Kong Stadium.
A limit of 1,500 people were eligible to buy four weekend tickets apiece on a first-come, first-served basis. All in all, there were 6,000 weekend tickets up for grabs, but it proved to be nowhere near enough for the demand on the day.
Fans were outside Hong Kong Stadium from as early as 4am and when the gates opened at 8am a steady stream of people filed their way in until all tickets had been sold by 9.35am.
'It is just the same old story. There's a limit on the tickets on sale with the majority of them going to corporate hospitality,' Phil Owens, a publisher, said.
'It's no wonder touts and the black market are flourishing here now. They can queue up early in the morning for the tickets like today and sell them for a profit when the tournament starts.'
Although tickets were advertised as going on sale to the public at noon, as it was on a first-come, first-served basis, a coupon system was in place for those who arrived early. Those arriving first were given these coupons. When the allocation of tickets were sold out, waiting-list coupons were then given to the next in line.