All 16 million tickets for the Beijing Olympics will have RFID embedded chips in them to prevent scalping and ticket piracy. Tickets for the opening and closing ceremony will contain the name, photograph, passport details, addresses, e-mail and telephone numbers of the ticket holder.

Some websites have raised privacy concerns over tickets holding this data that could be intercepted by computer hackers. Other people are predicting mayhem at turnstiles if there are any problems with the high-tech ticket system along with the expected high security precautions.

I have attended several test events and even when there were few spectators at an event there were usually long lines going into a stadium. Security involved checking bags, both through x-ray machines and searches by police and full pat downs from security guards. The process could take several minutes. I suspect though they will have plenty of staff on hand at the opening ceremony. Most of the police I encountered though did not speak English. I hope they at least learn basic phrases, such as “may I check inside your bag?”. I also suspect they will be looking not only for dangerous items, but also political banners and flags that might used to embarrass the hosts.

A security consultant has pointed to the fact that with the added complexity of the ticket systems, it might open a gap in the security system.

“They should be concentrating on sniffing out the kinds of dangerous stuff rather than worrying about the identify of the people with the tickets,” said Roger Clarke, an Australian security expert. His Xamax Consultancy in Canberra advises businesses in online security and identity authentication.

“The way in which you recognize an evildoer, somebody who wants to throw a bomb, somebody who wants to unfurl a Tibet flag is not on the basis of their identify,” Clarke added. “It’s the act that they perform and it’s the materials they carry with them.”

My advice; if you are lucky enough to get tickets for the opening ceremony, get there as early as possible.

Picture of the illegal items at one of the Beijing Olympic test events.

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