Online Registration for Public Ballot Draw of Hong Kong Sevens Tickets Opens

Online registration for the public ballot draw of the 2015 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens will begin tomorrow, 1 November 2014.

The 3,000 remaining event tickets for the public sale will be distributed on a daily basis, creating 9,000 opportunities for participants in the ballot to be successful.

Facing increasing operating costs in the past few seasons with the advent of a 28 team tournament - re-confirming Hong Kong’s status as the largest event on the HSBC Sevens World Series, the HKRFU has increased adult ticket prices from HK$1,500 to HK$1,800 for a full three-day tournament pass.

“With the expanded number of hosted teams at the Sevens, our operating expenses continue to rise significantly. As the Sevens is the primary financial driver of all domestic rugby, including our 118 million dollar investment in developing pitches and sports training facilities in recent years, we have had to increase the ticket prices to safeguard the financial viability of Hong Kong Rugby,” said Mr Vern Reid, Chief Executive Officer of the HKRFU,

As per previous years, children’s ticket prices will remain at HK$150, while adult daily ticket prices in the public ballot will be set at HK$300 for Friday and HK$750 for Saturday and Sunday respectively.

An extensive registration period for the final public ballot draw will begin at 09:00 on Saturday, 1 November 2014 and will close on Saturday, 31 January 2015. Once registration is complete, a distinct and separate ballot will be held for each day of the tournament. That draw will be held on 4 February 2015.

Ballot applicants can apply to attend all three days of the event and may win across multiple entries for access to the event on multiple days. Each applicant for the public ballot can apply for a maximum of two tickets per day in any combination of one adult, two adults or one adult and one child ticket packages.

Following the steady growth in Hong Kong’s Senior, Youth and Mini Rugby Clubs (all of which have been experiencing a sustained year-on-year growth of 10% for the past few seasons), the HKRFU expects that after the completion of the pre-sales period to local Rugby Clubs, stakeholders and the public ballot, 92% of event tickets will have been retailed in Hong Kong, with a further 6% reserved for overseas ticketing agents and 2% reserved for the participating teams.

Adding to the value of the tickets in 2015 is the confirmation by the HKRFU that international recording artists the Village People will be the official in-stadium entertainment in 2015. Following on the heels of the Beach Boys and Queen Extravaganza over the past two years, the famously costumed international recording artists with their global chart-toppers like “Y.M.C.A.”, “Macho Man” and “In the Navy”, will be a fun accompaniment to the fancy dress frolics at the Sevens in 2015. 

How to register for the public ballot:

Applicants can register for the public ballot via the official Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens website. Enquiries on the public ballot will be fielded via a special email address created by the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union.

The ballot will be held on Wednesday, 4 February 2015, with winners notified electronically on the same day.

Each applicant is allowed only one entry per person per event day in the ballot. Each successful applicant can apply for a maximum of two tickets per day. Application may be made for a variety of ticket categories including one adult ticket, two adult tickets or one adult and one child ticket. Entrants must be Hong Kong Identity cardholders and 18 years or over on the day of their application.

See also: Pictures from 2014 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.