Shanghai hitting high gear for F1

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, February 20, 2004

Shanghai hitting high gear for F1

With the city revving up for China's first-ever Formula One race, the organizing committee for the 2004 F1 World Championship China Grand Prix is launching a full-scale publicity blitz.

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With the city revving up for China's first-ever Formula One race, the organizing committee for the 2004 F1 World Championship China Grand Prix is launching a full-scale publicity blitz.

At the committee's establishment ceremony earlier this week, organizers said they expect tens of thousands of spectators from abroad to join domestic F1 fans at the September 24-26 event.

"We believe up to 55,000 people will come from abroad by then," said Jin Guoxiang, director of the Shanghai Municipal Sport Administration.

Ticket prices were set earlier this month, ranging from 3,700 yuan (US$450) down to 370 yuan (US$45).

The Shanghai F1 circuit, close to construction completion, is designed to host 200,000 spectators but only 150,000 tickets will be for sale because of security concerns.

Organizers said ticket booking will begin in early March with the readiness of all the involved marketing and technical facilities, and ticket sales are scheduled to start in late July.

The city's 40-plus star-ranked hotels have also begun to receive room bookings for the event.

Shanghai International Circuit Co. Ltd (SIC), a major organizer of the race, will announce late this month its contract regarding the sale of TV rights,,which could generate as much as 100 million yuan (US$12 million) for SIC.

"We need to fully capitalize on the event's resources and marketing value...it should become a new economic highlight for Shanghai and its neighbouring areas in the Yangtze Delta region," said Yang Xiaodu, vice- mayor of Shanghai.

According to earlier media reports, Shanghai pumped some 2.6 billion yuan (US$317 million) into the construction of the 5.4-kilometre-long circuit for the race, and the annual hosting fee, meanwhile, amounts to 166 million yuan (US$202 million).

Organizers have said they don't anticipate making money from hosting the event for the first three years. Shanghai acquired the race's hosting right for the 2004-2010 period.

A host of promotional activities, including a nationwide F1 model competition and visits by world-famous F1 racing teams and stars, have also been scheduled.

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