SOCOG plan action against ticket touts

Sydney: Sydney Games organisers said they would crack down on ticket touts at the Olympics on Monday after organised scalpers set up shop in the main Olympic Park.

Deputy chief executive of Games organisers SOCOG Michael Eyers said an unauthorised ticket booth had already been shut down in Sydney's Darling Harbour area.

"We are also commencing action against organised scalping operations inside Sydney Olympic Park," Eyers said.

"In such cases, Olympic tickets in the possession of the scalpers may be confiscated and those involved will be removed from the precinct," he said in a statement.

The sprawling Olympic Park complex, surrounded by strict security, is home to the main Stadium Australia and other venues where 14 of the 28 Olympic sports are being contested.

"We've seen, and the International Olympic Committee have reported to us, evidence that there is organised scalping going on," SOCOG media spokesman Milton Cockburn said.

Ticket touting is illegal in New South Wales at key sporting venues, including the arenas being used for the Games.

SOCOG says it has sold more than 85 percent of tickets to Olympic events in Sydney, a new Games record.

Though almost one million tickets are still up for grabs, seats at hugely popular events such as swimming and track and field finals have sold out.'The Sydney Morning Herald' newspaper reported on Monday that ticket touts had flown into Sydney from around the world but were having a hard time making a fast buck.

It said touts had found Australians would rather queue at an Olympic box office than take their chances with a scalper, even when offered tickets at face value."The market has been quite bad -- it's been really different to how it was at Nagano and other Olympic Games, where people would pay double, triple the value," one French tout using the name "Frank" told the newspaper.

Australian Greg Kelly, who was after some tickets for baseball, said, "They're not doing too well because Australians don't like to be ripped off."

Eyers said people who bought tickets from touts ran the risk that they were forgeries or stolen.

"They will find themselves out of pocket and without a seat at the Games," he said.



(c) Reuters Limited.