Hong Kong Sevens 2015 Sold Out After Public Ballot

The Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens has sold out for a 12th consecutive year in 2015.

With an extended three-month registration period implemented in late 2014, the public ballot attracted a record 27,007 applicants, generating over 134,000 specific ticket requests for the 9,000 individual day tickets available.

The overwhelming response to the public ballot - on top of the 37,000 tickets already distributed through local rugby clubs, overseas ticket agents, participating teams and event stakeholders and patrons, reinforces the pressing need for a larger home for the Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens than the present 40,000-seat capacity of the Hong Kong Stadium.

The 9,000 individual day tickets distributed through the ballot will bring the Hong Kong Stadium to maximum capacity for this year’s Sevens. 120,000 cumulative spectators are expected to attend the world-famous Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, which marks the 40th anniversary of sevens in Hong Kong in 2015.

Successful entrants drawn in Wednesday’s ballot will be notified by email and will have seven days in which to make their payment (17:00 on 11 February 2015).

With the completion of the public ballot draw, interested spectators still needing a ticket are encouraged to visit one of the 55 international websites run by viagogo, the official ticket marketplace of the Hong Kong Sevens.

To combat the historic incidences of touting and counterfeit tickets around the Hong Kong Sevens, the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) engaged in a new partnership with international ticket marketplace viagogo to create a safe, transparent and convenient market for secondary ticket sales.

viagogo enables people to buy and sell any ticket to any live event, anywhere in the world, using the language, currency and device of their choice. Today there are over four million tickets available on viagogo’s network of global websites.

Vern Reid, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union said, “Like most major international sports and entertainment events, the Hong Kong Sevens has been afflicted by ticket touting and the sale of illegitimate tickets on the secondary market. As ticket touting is not an illegal offence in Hong Kong, the HKRFU decided to engage with an international ticket re-seller to provide the maximum confidence and convenience for spectators who want to attend HKRFU events, even after the box office has sold out.”

Viagogo was established to improve access to live events and to clean up the ticketing market by introducing new levels of consumer protection. viagogo guarantees every transaction with sellers not being paid until the purchaser has successfully been granted entry to the event.

The HKRFU said it believes that partnering with viagogo will not only ensure confidence amongst interested spectators but also improve access to tickets for HKRFU events.

In partnering with viagogo, the HKRFU is following the successful model of the Scottish Rugby Union. The partnership in Scotland has helped reduce complaints about fake tickets to virtually zero and has greatly reduced the presence of sellers outside of the stadium on event days.

The viagogo pricing mechanism also works to ensure that only the most competitively priced tickets appear in a single page of the Hong Kong Sevens section of the viagogo website. The lowest priced tickets are listed first, thus sellers are incentivised to price tickets competitively to ensure the highest number of potential buyers views their offers.

The viagogo pricing mechanism has proven to be highly effective in regulating ticket prices on the secondary market. Since the start of the partnership with the Scottish Rugby Union, the average price for a ticket for Scotland games on viagogo has reduced by up to 50%.

Overall, around half of the tickets available on the viagogo platform sell for face value or less.

Currently both parties are exploring the option of establishing an on-event presence for viagogo at this year’s Sevens, enabling fans with tickets they cannot use to return them on-event for sale to spectators without tickets removing the need for spectators to engage in the shadow market.

See also: Pictures of the 2014 Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens