(Photo from South China Morning Post, Hong Kong)

The Chinese mainland champions of the Rio Olympic Games will pay a three-day visit to Hong Kong beginning on Aug. 27. Tickets to the three public events at which the athletes will appear went on sale the morning of Aug. 22, selling out within four hours.

On Aug. 28, the champions will give badminton and table tennis demonstrations at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. There will also be a diving performance in Victoria Park. All the champions will then gather at 4 p.m. For these activities, the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) put 5,700 tickets on sale.

Even before the ticket offices opened at 10 a.m., long queues were already formed. Hundreds of people waited at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Some even arrived the evening before. They brought quilts and mats, prepared to wait the whole night. Meanwhile, in Tuen Mun Town Hall, hundreds more people did the same thing.

At 10 a.m., the tickets officially went on sale. LCSD announced that each person could buy up to two tickets. Those who successfully bought the tickets were very excited. There were some Chinese mainland citizens who came to Hong Kong especially for the opportunity to see their favorite players.

However, by 1 p.m. on the same day, LCSD announced that all the tickets had sold out. Citizens who did not get tickets were frustrated. Some even cried, and many complained about LCSD's arrangements.

The tickets cost 20 Hong Kong dollars, but soon appeared on other outlets being resold for over a thousand dollars.