No access for general public at CCTV Gala

Screenshot of a man who have appeared on camera at the Spring Festival Gala for 10 consecutive years.

(ECNS) -- The general public has no access to see China Central Television's (CCTV) live Spring Festival Gala in person, as tickets are only distributed among officials and billionaires, China Radio International (CNR) has reported.

Seats at tables near the stage are priced as high as 200,000 yuan ($33,051), according to widespread rumors, while tickets for a common seat range from 2,000 yuan to 40,000 yuan.

The organizing team has denied the rumors, saying the tickets are not for sale.

However, CNR has learned from CCTV staff that the tickets are distributed only among the heads of CCTV and its supervising body, as well as to celebrities and officials of the provincial government and army.

An insider told CNR that a certain number of tickets will also be set aside for sponsors of CCTV and the gala. In previous years, sponsors who won naming rights at the gala sat at tables and appeared on camera for seconds, the insider said. Less-paid sponsors sat in the front rows and had no chance of appearing on camera.

A brief on-camera appearance at the Spring Festival Gala is worth millions of yuan, reports have said.

At the 2009 Spring Festival Gala, Robin Li, CEO of Baidu, appeared eight times on camera, as he was one of CCTV's biggest sponsors that year.

Tickets for several rehearsals of the gala are usually distributed among the city's residential communities, the CCTV staffer added.

The report also said performers and gala staff will consume at least 20,000 box meals during six rehearsals and the live gala.