On sale: Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs Vincent Liu (2nd left) announces 2009 East Asian Games ticketing arrangements.

Tickets for the Hong Kong 2009 East Asian Games competitions and ceremonies will go on sale from August 31, Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs Vincent Liu says, adding arrangements for the last leg of the August 29 torch relay will be revised.

At a press briefing today, Mr Liu said in view of public concerns, the Government decided to adjust the plan so the last leg and the cauldron-lighting ceremony will be held at Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai, while the 100-day countdown show will be staged at TVB City in Tseung Kwan O as planned.

The games will be held from December 5 to 13, with some competition preliminaries set to begin on December 2 - including basketball, football, table tennis, volleyball, cue sports and squash.

The renowned Beijing Olympic Games production team will produce both the opening and closing ceremonies. The opening will be staged at 8pm at the Tsim Sha Tsui Cultural Centre Piazza on December 5. It will feature performances on a floating stage against the background of Victoria Harbour, a boat parade and a fireworks show.

The closing ceremony will take place at the Hong Kong Coliseum at 8pm on December 13, during which the games flag and flame will be handed over to Tianjin, the next host city.

Tickets for the opening ceremony will be sold at $1,000 each, while those for the closing are priced at $200, $400 and $600. For competition events, ticket prices will range from $50 to $300 - with 90% priced at $50 or $100.

All competition event tickets are available in the form of one-day passes. Rugby Sevens, though, will offer only  two-day passes, and tickets for DanceSport events are sold in three sessions - morning, afternoon and evening. Rowing, windsurfing, squash (doubles preliminaries) and cycling (road events) are non-ticketed events.

The total number of seats for competition events and the ceremonies is about 410,000. It includes about 80,000 seats reserved for athletes, delegates, media workers and VIPs, and 120,000 education tickets the Jockey Club Charities Trust sponsors. About 210,000 tickets will be offered for public sale.

From 10am on August 31, members of the public can buy tickets at 23 HK Ticketing outlets or through its webpage, or by calling the telephone booking hotline, 3128 8288. Get a free copy of a ticketing brochure from District Offices, Leisure & Cultural Services Department venues and HK Ticketing outlets.

A 10% discount will be offered for purchases from August 31 to September 13 or purchases of 10 or more full-priced tickets in each transaction. Half-priced tickets are available for the elderly, children under 12, the disabled and students.

To ensure a fair chance, patrons can buy tickets for up to three sessions during each transaction. Each session will have a quota for the number of tickets which can be sold per transaction.

Meanwhile, 2009 East Asian Games (Hong Kong) Limited will organise a photo contest with an open group and a student group, encouraging participants to take photos of sports competitions and snapshots in non-competition events. The application deadline is December 21.