News
Scalpers target CCTV festival gala rehearsals
By Xu Fan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-11 07:58
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The upcoming China Central Television Spring Festival Gala, expected to attract as much as 95 percent of Chinese viewers on Saturday night, has driven scalpers into a frenzy with sales of the main event and the rehearsals.
A scalper surnamed Gu, who posted an ad to sell tickets on trading portal 58.com, told METRO he would secure his tickets from an insider at China Central Television (CCTV).
"It will be very hard for most people to get a ticket. I haven't got the actual tickets yet but someone has promised to give them to me later," he said.
In addition to online sales of the main event, illegal trade is also active for the rehearsals of the show.
Scalpers are allegedly approaching the rehearsal audiences to purchase their tickets. The first dress rehearsal started on the afternoon of Feb 3, with the fifth and last rehearsal at 2 pm today. A Beijing resident surnamed Ma said he recently witnessed four men snapping up tickets from audience members outside the west gate of the CCTV building.
"One man chatted with me and asked to buy my tickets for 800 yuan each. He said I could bargain," said Ma, according to the Beijing News.
Some scalpers quoted different prices for the rehearsals, depending on which celebrity came.
A ticket to the rehearsal attended by renowned comedian Zhao Benshan went for 500 yuan each.
According to insiders, the most sought after tickets have been sold for up to 30,000 yuan in recent years.
Press officers with CCTV said all the tickets were free and should not be sold, according to the Beijing News.
However, not all civilians were interested in spending excessively to sit inside a camera-filled hall.
"I heard that the audience is not be allowed to leave once it starts and have to applaud every show," said Qin Feifeng, a 33-year-old IT engineer,
"I prefer to watch the live performance on my TV at home and save all that money," he said.
(China Daily 02/11/2010 page25)
