Alibaba to run Olympic ticketing for Beijing, likely beyond

Lausanne (Switzerland), Jul 19 (AP) The IOC says top-tier sponsor Alibaba will run ticketing services for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, putting the Chinese online retail giant in line to do the same for future hosts Paris and Los Angeles. The International Olympic Committee says the Beijing contract to sell tickets worldwide "will harness Alibaba's technological and data expertise."

It also shapes as a trial to establish the Chinese firm as ticket provider during a sponsorship which initially runs through the 2024 Paris and 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games. The IOC says it wants "a single provider ... over several Games editions" to cut costs and be simpler than each games organising committee in turn running its own system.

The Olympic body notes that Alibaba owns Damai "one of China's largest ticketing platforms." (AP) RUP