Police have arrested three people for allegedly claiming they had spare tickets on sale for the opening ceremony of the Kai Tak Sports Park on Saturday, with tickets reportedly being offered at marked up prices.

A total of 8,500 tickets for the opening ceremony on March 1 were available at HK$10 each and were snapped up within around half an hour of being available on February 21.

As many as 33,600 spectators are expected to attend the star-studded event.

Those who successfully made a purchase online via a real-name registration system will first receive electronic vouchers to exchange for the real tickets at a later date.

At a press conference on Tuesday, police officers accused the trio of jacking up the prices and intending to sell the tickets online at a range between HK$100 and HK$2,000 each.

Preliminary investigations showed two of the suspects did not hold the vouchers and the force has yet to ascertain whether the coupon held by the remaining person was authentic.

The force added it has not ruled out making further arrests.

Sports commissioner George Tsoi said successful buyers can only get the actual tickets from Thursday, two days before the opening ceremony.

"When the exchange takes place, we will check the voucher holder's identity. If the identity does not match, no tickets will be issued, and the person will not be able to enter the venue," he said.