Anger over lack of Australia show tickets

• Source: Global Times
• [09:42 June 09 2010]
• Comments

Visitors block a gate of the Expo Center Tuesday, angry at a lack of tickets for the Australian performance. Photo: Ni Dandan

By Ni Dandan

More than 20 visitors to the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai blocked a gate at the Expo Center Tuesday morning to protest the lack of tickets to a performance by Australian artists.

The performance, which was described by Lyndall Sachs, commissioner general of the Australia Pavilion, as blending rock, pop, indigenous, classical and jazz elements, was part of the activities celebrating Australia's national pavilion day Tuesday.

However, some of those who queued for tickets become irate after discovering that only 200 of the total 2,000 tickets were available to ordinary visitors.

"They shouldn't have claimed that it's a performance open to the public given the fact that only 10 percent of the tickets were reserved for ordinary visitors," said a 69-year-old visitor surnamed Zhou. He told the Global Times that he had visited the Expo Park especially to see the performance after learning about it from TV.

A few other visitors said they arrived at the Expo Center in good time for when staff began handing out free performance tickets at 9:30 am. By 9:50 am, no tickets were left.

A member of Expo Center staff who was on duty at the time the tickets were given out said all 200 tickets available for ordinary visitors were gone within 10 minutes. "The enthusiasm shown by visitors for today's performance was unexpected, but 200 tickets was all we had," said the staff member, who wished to remain anonymous. "The remaining 1,800 tickets were reserved by the Australia Pavilion for their special guests."

Staff tried to calm the crowd, although over 20 people refused to leave the Expo Center and blocked one of its gates for over an hour, demanding an official explanation. After staff made a number of attempts to explain the situation, the disappointed visitors eventually dispersed.

Zou Zhiheng, a volunteer who was working nearby, told the Global Times Tuesday that usually tickets to performances in the Expo Center are still available after 10 am. "The situation today was exceptional," he said. "I guess it's because the event had too much media coverage and therefore attracted too many visitors."

In addition to the show inside the Expo Center in the afternoon, another performance was staged in the open area just outside the Australia Pavilion Tuesday evening.