The Portrait of an "Olympic Host" -- A Battle Ground Scene of the "Beijing Olympics" -- Chinese push and shove for last chance Games tickets

http://img.iht.com/images/2008/07/25/25ticket-sale550.jpg
More than 40,000 people waited to buy Olympic tickets in Beijing early Friday when the final tranche
of 820,000 tickets went on sale. (Joe Chan/Reuters)

Chinese push and shove for last chance Games tickets

By Ian Ransom Reuters
Published: July 25, 2008

BEIJING: Unwashed, unfed and lacking sleep, tens of thousands of Chinese shouted, pushed and shoved
for their last chance at Olympic tickets on a hot and smoggy Friday, threatening to break through
heavy police cordons.

Ticket hopefuls and security officials screamed back and forth as tempers flared just two weeks
before the Beijing Games begin on August 8.

Loudspeakers blared over and over, telling people to queue patiently as minor scuffles broke out in
the crowd and between reporters and police who struggled to keep order.

Hong Kong television showed police shoving reporters as they tried to clear an area near the ticket
booths.