The county’s biggest ticket printing and mail-out operation since the Olympics has commenced, with the first run of 1.1million tickets for the approaching Rugby World Cup already in production. According to Australian Rugby Union (ARU), the tickets are being printed in Australia, including Sydney and four other locations, after the furore that ensued pre-Sydney Olympics when it was revealed that millions of tickets were printed overseas. It is also expected that by keeping the production local, the debacle experienced with the Olympic tickets being too large for the scanners will not be repeated.
Once printed, the tickets will then be sent through Australia Post’s Express Post service to the 100,000 fans who have purchased them through a public ballot and general release process reminiscent of the Olympics.
According to Shane Harmon, who is heading up the World Cup marketing programme, expectations are that the majority of the tickets will be delivered by the middle of next , ahead of schedule.
Approximately two million people are expected to attend World Cup fixtures in October and November, with an estimated 500,000 more tickets becoming available from August 18.
