News broke last week that the ticketing programme for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will use Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba’s expertise in tech and data. The organising committee said that it selected Alibaba because it had the capability to “deliver ticketing services and operations over several Games editions, reducing costs and the complexity of hosting the Games in line with Olympic Agenda 2020s recommendations on efficient turnkey solutions.” In other words, the organising committee wanted to find a single provider who could deliver a “continuity of service” throughout – and Alibaba fit the bill.
Alibaba’s share price has appreciated by 25% so far this year
Source: Yahoo Finance
Alibaba’s knowledge in the ticketing area comes from its ownership of Damai, one of China’s largest ticketing platforms. However, Alibaba won’t just run ticketing for the IOC – it will also help it to develop its own digital strategy and ecosystem.
Timo Lumme, the IOC’s managing director for television and marketing services, said: “The ticketing solutions provided will drive further innovation at the Olympic Games, enhance the spectator experience and reduce costs for organisers, delivering on the commitments made by Olympic Agenda 2020.”
Alibaba’s chief marketing officer, Chris Tung, added: “We are proud to extend our partnership with the Olympic Games, beyond e-commerce and cloud, by supporting the Beijing 2022 ticketing programme. We look forward to leveraging our technology to help provide streamlined, digitally-enabled ticket sales services to create a seamless ticketing experience for fans around the world.”
Disclosure
Dominion holds Alibaba in its Global Trends Ecommerce Fund.
Author: Theo Leworthy
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