Tickets for Sinulog events at CCSC not yet ready

Tribu Kaplag Buwad Festival of Barangay San Nicolas Proper bags third place at the Sinulog Sa Barangay 2017 held at the Cebu City Sports Center. (CDN File Photo/Lito Tecson)

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Those who are waiting for the tickets to allow them to enter the Cebu City Sports Center for the Sinulog-related events, starting from the opening salvo on January 9 up to the grand parade on January 19, 2020,  cannot buy it anywhere as of today, January 8.

The Sinulog Foundation Incorporated (SFI) said the tickets are not yet on sale as the private marketing firm hired by the Sinulog Governing Board (SGB) has yet to finalize the details on the tickets.

Elmer “Jojo” Labella, the executive director of the SFI and brother of Mayor Edgardo Labella, said they have given the marketing firm until January 9, 2020 to finally start the selling of the tickets.

This means that that those who want to watch the opening salvo on Friday, January 10, at the CCSC can buy their tickets at the gate.

As announced, the tickets for the Sinulog events at the CCSC prior the grand parade, such as the opening salvo and the Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Lalawigan on January 11, will be sold at P100 each. The prices for the wristbands, which will be sold in lieu of tickets, during the grand parade on January 19 will ranged from P1,000 to P3,000.

Jojo said that the ticket sale is late this year because in the past years, the tickets to the CCSC for the grand parade were sold as early as December, or   at least a month before the Sinulog Festival.

However, Jojo was confident the tickets will still sell even if selling will begin just ten days from the grand parade.

“Despite this, we are still expecting the tickets to be sold out. People can buy the tickets online so it will be convenient. And we also plan to cater to walk-ins if there are tickets left,” said Jojo.

The marketing firm already revealed that wristbands will replace tickets for the grand parade to avoid counterfeiting.

Jojo said this is a welcome development as counterfeiting has always been an issue during the Sinulog grand parade in the past years.

Despite the late release of tickets, Jojo was positive spectators will still flock to the CCSC to watch the performances of the different contingents.

Contingents from outside Cebu are expected to bring in visitors from their provinces and this influx of local tourists will hopefully fill the grandstand./elb