The current security measures for the Olympic Equestrian Events are appropriate, Chief Executive Donald Tsang says, adding Police will continue to review the situation and will enhance the arrangements if necessary.

During his visit to the equestrian venues this afternoon, Mr Tsang said the security arrangements for the events are stringent and in line with the Olympic Games’ standard.

A balance is needed between ensuring the games’ safety and minimising the inconvenience caused to spectators, he added.

When asked whether Hong Kong’s hot weather will affect athletes’ and horses’ performance, Mr Tsang said Athens – which hosted the last Olympic Games – also has a hot summer.

He said athletes must prepare for different situations because competitions involve many unexpected factors.

Source: Hong Kong’s Information Services Department

An extra 14,000 tickets for the Olympic Equestrian Events have been allocated to Hong Kong by the Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), Head of Games Services of the Equestrian Company, Mr Tang Ho-kong said today (July 27).

“With the Olympic equestrian enthusiasm, the 60,000 ‘Games-Time’ tickets for the Equestrian Events allocated to Hong Kong in mid-June have been sold out. To further encourage public engagement in the events, the Equestrian Committee (Hong Kong) of BOCOG had applied for another 14,000 tickets to be sold in Hong Kong,” Mr Tang said.

The last batch of Games-Time tickets is available for sale from Tuesday (July 29).  As in the current ticketing phase, CTS has been appointed as the official ticket agent for the Games-Time tickets for the Equestrian Events.

To encourage more people to attend the events, the Equestrian Committee continues to adopt the BOCOG policy and set ticket prices at affordable levels ranging from HK$58 to HK$544.

The spokesman for CTS Mr Ng Hi-on said people could purchase the Games-Time tickets at all CTS branches or on its website (www.ctshk.com) on a first-come, first-served basis. For the six popular sessions (EQ04, EQ05, EQ07, EQ11, EQ12, EQ13), each session only has a small amount of tickets left (about 500 tickets or less). The tickets will only be sold at CTS Mong Kok Branch starting from July 29 and the Branch will open an hour early at 8am that day. Each applicant may select a maximum of two tickets for each popular session and 15 tickets per other session for every transaction. For details, please visit the CTS website or call its ticketing hotline: (852) 2998-7080.

For the first batch of the Games-Time equestrian tickets on sales in Hong Kong since June 12, CTS will arrange the ticket redemption by batches starting from this week. CTS will contact the Ticket Exchange Coupon holders regarding the exact redemption time and arrangement.

For the last batch of Games-Time equestrian tickets, the cut-off time for ticket sales for morning sessions will be at 8pm the day before the competition, and at noon on the competition day for evening sessions. As the spectators have to bring their physical tickets in order to enter the venues, the Ticket redemption arrangements for Ticket Exchange Coupon holders will be as follows:

• For tickets being sold 5 days or more prior the competition day, Olympic Equestrian Tickets can be collected at designated CTS branch as from 3 days before the competition day. (For example, the redemption period for event on August 9 that bought on or before August 4 will be from August 6 to noon on August 8);
• For tickets being sold three or four days prior the competition day, Olympic Equestrian Tickets can be collected at CTS Mong Kok Branch two days after the purchase until the day before the competition up to noon time. (For example, the redemption period for event on August 9 that bought on August 5 or 6 will be from August 7 to noon on August 8);
• For tickets being sold within two days from the competition day, Olympic Equestrian Tickets can be collected at the ticket boxes at the shuttle bus pick-up/drop-off points two hours before the competition starts. (For example, tickets of August 9 event that bought on August 7 or 8 can be redeemed on August 9 at relevant shuttle bus pick-up/drop-off points.) For competitions held at Hong Kong Equestrian Venue (Sha Tin), the ticketing box is at University Station shuttle bus pick-up/drop-off point; for competition held at Hong Kong Equestrian Venue (Beas River), the ticketing box is at Fanling Station shuttle buss pick-up/drop-off point.
• The ticket redemption arrangements such as time, places, etc, for various ticket purchase phases will be printed on the Ticket Exchange Coupons. The Ticket Exchange Coupon Holders can redeem the physical tickets accordingly.

Thirteen Olympic equestrian events will be held from August 9-21 at the Sha Tin and Beas River venues.  Free shuttle bus services will be provided for spectators from MTR University Station to the Sha Tin competition venue and from MTR Fanling Station to the Beas River competition venue.

Mr Tang advised that spectators should arrive at the competition venues one or two hours before the start of competition for security checks to avoid a last-minute rush.

To facilitate spectators, live commentary in Cantonese and English will be available on radio (FM) channels at the Sha Tin competition venue. Spectators can take an FM radio with headsets to enjoy the events; whereas for the Beas River venue, English commentary will be available via the sound system at the venue.

For more information about the competitions, please browse the Equestrian Company’s website at https://equestrian2008.org, or call the 24-hour spectator enquiry hotline 2107-9955.

Olympic Equestrian Events comprise three disciplines: Dressage, Jumping and Eventing. Each discipline includes team and individual events. There are a total of about 200,000 equestrian tickets for sale in Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games tickets have a design full of Olympic flavour, and can be kept as collectibles. Attending the Equestrian Events is the best way to show support for the China and Hong Kong teams and experience the Olympic spirit.