Collectors of sports memorabilia got a case of "Olympics Fever" on Friday with the news that China won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
On Friday, Olympics sponsor The Coca-Cola Co quickly launched a limited edition of its signature drink at an event held in Beijing to congratulate the city, according to a press release sent to the Global Times the same day.
Although 720,000 golden commemorative cans were prepared for supermarkets in the capital, it was not easy to get the special edition of Coca-Cola when it became a hot item.
Within an hour, the Global Times couldn't find even one can in the Lotte supermarket in the U Town Mall, a shopping mall located in Chaoyang District in the capital.
The company will also launch a limited-edition red commemorative can in Zhangjiakou, a city in North China's Hebei Province and the partner of Beijing in holding the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, according to the press release.
On taobao.com, an online shopping platform, the special 500-milliliter golden commemorative can costs 20 yuan ($3.22) each, double the supermarket price.
A dealer of collectible items surnamed Pan, who was selling his wares in front of a post office in Beijing's Chaoyang District, told the Global Times on Sunday that the price of the golden can could triple or quadruple within a few years.
Coca-Cola launched five editions of commemorative cans for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, including a series of limited-edition Fuwa cans. Nearly 1.6 million cans were sold at 9 yuan at the time; they now cost 75 yuan per can.
Also on Friday, the State Post Bureau issued a set of stamps to mark the winning bid. The stamps cost 1.2 yuan.
Pan said that stamps with the theme of the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 now sell at 10 yuan, compared with 1.6 yuan when they were issued, and prices will probably go higher.
