Hello, this is the 2nd year since I started playing badminton and have been following closely the tournaments (actually taufik hidayat) since this year. Really want to go see some world-class badminton here in the coming up Hong Kong Open. I read in another thread that the info about HK Open comes out around in October, and I am waiting for that to come out. I also read from ppl here in badmintoncentral that there are yonex booths during HK Open in QE stadium. I want to ask, 1.Are the rackets cheaper at the booths? 2.Are the booths open to public or do you need to have a HK Open ticket to visit the booths? Thanks.
the racket prices are actually slightly higher than shop prices, but you'll get exta items like bags and water bottle, the rackets are strung using the Yonex Electronic stringing machines.
Thanks, thought it would be cheaper at the booths. Guess I have to window-shop the booths if I do go to the HK Open.
Ooops, I initially just want to go to the final. Now you say that the tickets for final and semi-finals are hard to get, I guess I should mentally prepare to settle with just a quarter-final ticket. But then, there would be more players to see in quarter-final. And Taufik would most probably be still surviving in quarter-finals, and most important of all, if Dec 2 is the final, Nov 30 is the quarter-final and it is SUNDAY on that day! Anyway, any tips for buying tickets? Do you have to wait overnight outside the ticket office? And for quarterfinals, if 3 matches are currently going on on 3 separate courts, and I am designated to sit at a particular seat near court 1, but I want to watch court 3, is it possible for me to leave my seat and stand somewhere? (My another query in my mind is if QE stadium is that large to have 3 courts at the same time?)
^^Good thing you're preparing ahead of time..^^ ..to answer your last query (about how many courts will it accommodate?), you can browse around in this link and maybe find the answer (from last yr's HK Open): http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=210 And yes, if you by any chance decide to go and watch the HK Open, keep an eye for a possible BC get-together. See the other thread in this sub-forum/section.
The qualification will start on Monday evening and main draw will start on Monday. Information and Ticketing will be ready around end of October...( the could not tell me the exact date)..you can buy it on line, I believe..if not you can call ticketing hotline and reserve the tickets.. QE stadium is not large, quite small..I think they can accomodate only 3000 spectators...
Chris, can't really find infos about tickets and courts and stuff on last year's threads.. (or I'm just being too lazy) Could we purhase the SF/F tickets online beforehand?
^^Do i look like the ticketing manager..^^ ..of this yr's HK Open??*looks around*.....Don't look at me, young lady.. Btw, the ticketing info thread, from last yr, can be found in the 2nd page of the link above>>see last thread at the bottom of the page... And the pics of the no. courts can be seen in the pictures thread..
I have looked at the pictures from the HK Open 2007 thread. What a festival! I am not quite sure, but there should be a maximum of 3 courts at the same time. Thanks guys.
I found some information on another discussion forum. here - scroll halfway down. I don't know about the ticketing information i.e. how to get a ticket.
I always think the QF is the best day in the HK Open. There will be two courts so if you have a boring match on one, you can look at the other! The stadium is not that large Before the QF, there will be 3 courts. If you go to the daytime sessions, then there are few people and you can walk around to get closer to any of the courts in the same ticketing zone. This will be at the discretion of the stewards. At night, more people attend and it becomes much stricter so you probably will be asked to move back to your original seat. QF day becomes 2 courts. More difficult to move around the arena because more people attend. Night time will be very busy - probably difficult to get the evening ticket unless you buy before the tournament. Last year, Taufik was playing Lin Dan in the evening so that session was absolutely packed. SF day goes down to one court. 5 matches played in each session, with 2 sessions in the day. For SF and F, tickets are hard to get - usually sold out before the tournament.
Thanks Cheung for the details about the tournament. I guess I would go to the quarter-final at night. I guess the organizer would arrange the most-anticipated players to play at night. Or maybe I would go to both afternoon and night sessions of quarter-final. To me, seeing more players play is better than watching just the final, as the level of play doesn't differ too mcuh, when compared to quarter-final.
And if I buy the cheapest ticket of quarter-final (HK$60), would you guys give a comment like 'you'd better not go at all, as you won't be able to see anything clearly'. Is QE small enough to make the view of the cheapest seat acceptable or even enjoyable?
Thanks, problem is I don't have a credit card. Maybe I have to find a way to get around this problem. Go queue overnight maybe, haha.
Some basic info already available here.. Yea I'm wondering about the cheapest ticket stuff also.. Would I be sitting waaay back and wouldn't be able to see a thing or is it still okay?