Chinese, foreigners to pay same price for Games tickets

BEIJING, Feb 16 (Reuters) Chinese and foreign spectators at next year's Beijing Olympic Games will pay the same ticket prices, and almost two-thirds of tickets will cost less than 100 yuan (.89), a state newspaper said today.

''It cannot be that Chinese have one price and foreigners another,'' the Beijing News quoted vice-mayor Liu Jingmin as saying. ''This does not accord with the Olympic spirit.'' Foreigners and Chinese used to be charged separately in China for everything from hotel rooms to toilet admission, but that practice has largely fallen out of favour in the last few years.

Liu said they had decided to keep ticket prices cheap because of the relatively low income level in China.

Tickets for better known sports that may attract more European and American spectators would be no differently priced, he said.

''We will not allow that,'' he said.

REUTERS SAM DS1050