Event Cinemas No Food or Drinks?

DEvok on 27/01/2015 - 02:05
Last edited 30/01/2015 - 02:03

As some of you may have realised that eventcinemas now have a strict newer policy of NO drinks or food that is to be taken into their cinemas unless purchased from their candy bar, That's not only for Gold Class, But all.

It used to be no hot food as it disturbs the audience, Then they started having their own hot food, "Burgers, Hot Dogs, The list goes on, And they won't allow you take anything of your own…

Also not to mention a few places that sell beverages have a movie deal like Pay only $20 for a drink+ movie ticket.
Eventcinemas are still having these partnership promos with other party's, Like Chatime, Gloria jeans, etc,
What is the point if you cannot take anything?
Don't you think this is ridiculous?

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Comments

    • mashimus on 29/01/2015 - 09:40
      +2

      I hope that Chatime was still sealed, or you would have created a new problem.

    • fatal on 30/01/2015 - 14:57

      Yeah, we had some drinks and they didn't let us enter either.
      Just put it into my GF's bag.

      Did you watch American Sniper by any chance? Heaps of people were pissed off in front of me.

  • [Deactivated] on 27/01/2015 - 17:05
    +4

    I usually do take my own stuff but it's identical to the candy bar product so they aren't to know. But I went to the movies last week and bought 2 x Mt Franklinks and 2 x M&Ms because I didn't have time to go to Woolies first and it cost me $24. I won't be making that mistake again.

    In fact, I don't know if I'll even go again at the prices they charge. If someone asked you to pay $13.50 for the privelege of putting up with seat stealers, chatterboxes, packet crunchers, gravel chewers, in-movie texters and sick people you'd tell them you'd rather be shot in the face. But, hey, it's the movies.

  • millhouse on 27/01/2015 - 17:56

    It's worth noting (as a former cinema manager) that often, on the first fortnight of a new release film (ie: when it draws a crowd), the cinema gets only 40-50% of your ticket price. The rest goes to the distributor.

    Factor in all staff costs, operating costs, maintenance, new equipment, etc, and you can see why the prices are so high.

    The flip side of the coin is that movies cost a tonne to make (well, the ones that more people go to!) and thus you can understand the distributor's side the argument.

    • JimmyF on 27/01/2015 - 22:56
      +1

      yet strangely in the USA a movie ticket is only $7USD…. or about $10 AUD? Hmmmmm…..

    • JimmyF on 27/01/2015 - 22:56

      dup post

    • Cluster on 28/01/2015 - 15:18
      +1

      The cinema receives 40 to 50% of the ticket's price? That's actually pretty good when you compare it to the slim margins some retailers have to work with.

      • cheng2008 on 29/01/2015 - 14:46

        Retailer margins are after all costs are factored in. This 40-50% doesn't factor in the costs.

    • victorhooi on 08/06/2015 - 10:32

      Yeah, we all know movie companies like Sony and Warner Bros don't make any money….rolls eyes

      Sorry, but that's a farce - they're so bad (or good) at hiding their profits, that there's even a special term for it - "Hollywood Accounting":

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_accounting

      I don't know if you actually believe the lies and have been duped, or if you're trying to peddle the same lies.

      When the Forest Gump movies came out, they tried to tell the author that they "made no money on it, so we can't pay you a share of the profits" - despite raking in US $660 million in ticket sales.

      The author then denied them the rights to the sequel saying "I cannot in good conscience allow money to be wasted on a failure.".

      That's on the movie studios/distributors side - movie theatres have been under less scrutiny, but I wouldn't be surprised if they use the same tricks.

    • victorhooi on 08/06/2015 - 10:45

      Did 5 minutes of Googling, found this:

      https://www.ahl.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/HY-2014-Fi…

      Annual report for AHL, one of the majority shareholders in Event Cinemas.

      They made profit of $24.8 million over 6 months for their Australian cinemas arm - that's profit, mind you not revenue.

      There was a shortfall in revenue from advertising, which they say they hope to make up for in "merchandise" (i.e. candybar sales). At least they're truthful to their shareholders…lol.

  • xyron on 27/01/2015 - 18:26
    +3

    This has been a policy at all major cinemas for as long as I can remember, starting way back when I reckon I saw Aladdin or some other similar animated movie of the era with my (OzBargain level - broden) dad, who would always bring in snacks and chips and whatever else in his jacket pockets and bags.

    Most recently I went to Hoyts Norwood (why do I keep going to that cinema? price gouge level = Australian car industry) and my mate had literally just handed me a yiros he brought for me from his parents' yiros shop as we walked in - I got a bit of a comment from the ticket-ripper but he didn't really appear to give that much of a shit.

    I find it hard to have sympathy for cinemas like Hoyts charging $22 for an adult ticket (then crying that they hardly make any profit) when cinemas like Odeon Star and Wallis charge between $9 and $14 for the same ticket, for substantially the same viewing experience. Good thing I moved recently and now my closest cinema is Wallis Piccadilly :)

  • [Deactivated] on 27/01/2015 - 18:41
    +3

    Just don't sneak a latte in your shirt like Kramer..

    • c0balt on 27/01/2015 - 22:56
      +5

      Who told you to put the balm on?!

    • hahaboy on 28/01/2015 - 18:32

      These pretzels are making me thirsty!

  • treeman on 27/01/2015 - 19:24

    This sucks, anyone confirm Marion has this policy too?

  • DEvok on 27/01/2015 - 20:18

    Just copied this from my email, as you noticed they updated their last sentence, it was not there in December.

    barcode
    Movie The Wedding Ringer
    Session Monday 26 January at 07:00PM
    Location George Street, 505-525 George Street
    Cinema Number Cinema 11
    Seat P6, P7
    Tickets 1 x Voucher G1E*****
    1 x Voucher G1E****
    Scoop Alley None
    What to do when you arrive at the cinema
    Thanks for buying online - now you can Jump The Queue! Simply print out, grab your voucher, gift card or credit card and bring this confirmation to the Online Priority Guest point. If you do not have a printer, write down your ticket confirmation number & have your ID ready when collecting. Don’t forget you need your vouchers and concession cards to collect your tickets! We recommend you arrive at least 20mins prior to your session time. Failure to produce vouchers at manager’s request may result in non-entry to the session. Please note: No external food or beverage is allowed in our cinemas. Consumption prior to entry is required

    • QW3RTY on 28/01/2015 - 12:33
      +15

      No external food or beverage is allowed in our cinemas. Consumption prior to entry is required

      "Hey! What's that in your bag? 1.5kg of red frogs?! Well, you know the rule! Consumption prior to entry is required. Now eat all those frogs."
      "… B-but…. can't I just throw them out and go in?"
      "No. They must all be consumed."

    • robberbutton on 28/01/2015 - 22:35
      +2

      We recommend you arrive at least 20mins prior to your session time.

      Considering the last 3 movies I went to see had a good 30 minutes of ads & trailers running AFTER the scheduled session time, I don't think so…

      • Windows7forever on 29/01/2015 - 06:45

        Yet they cry poor so loudly when ticket sales drop off.

      • lemons4lime on 30/01/2015 - 14:47

        i think that's increased to at least 45 minutes these days at my local hoyts

    • Pinchy on 28/01/2015 - 23:26

      What to do when you arrive at the cinema
      Thanks for buying online - now you can Jump The Queue! Simply print out, grab your voucher, gift card or credit card and bring this confirmation to the Online Priority Guest point. If you do not have a printer, write down your ticket confirmation number & have your ID ready when collecting. Don’t forget you need your vouchers to collect your tickets! We recommend you arrive at least 30mins prior to your session time. Failure to produce vouchers at manager’s request may result in non-entry to the session.

      Not for me. From tonight.

    • treeman on 30/01/2015 - 10:12

      I just purchased some tickets for my local event cinema at Marion SA and didn't get the same disclaimer at the bottom. I got:

      Thanks for buying online - now you can Jump The Queue! Simply print out, grab your voucher, gift card or credit card and bring this confirmation to the Online Priority Guest point. If you do not have a printer, write down your ticket confirmation number & have your ID ready when collecting. Don’t forget you need your vouchers to collect your tickets! We recommend you arrive at least 30mins prior to your session time. Failure to produce vouchers at manager’s request may result in non-entry to the session.

      In Adelaide we have to arrive 30 minutes before the movie!

      lol

  • imcold on 27/01/2015 - 20:29
    +1

    Its easy to get around the policy. If 100 people walked in with say cups from say Hungry jacks or water bottles without a lid. And they was asked to throw it into a bin on entry. When water starts leaking out and staining carpet with a mix of soft-drinks or whatever was inside the bin. It wont take very long for them to change their no outside drink policy.

  • mirridon on 27/01/2015 - 20:44
    +1

    Eat the food you want including hot food whatever.
    Nothing annoys me more than people taking their phones out during the movies, either to text or look at the time. It's inconsiderate and it's very rude.

    Oh the movie is boring? Then go away.I don't need 100% brightness in my face at irregular intervals.

    To OP, I'm pretty sure they've had that no food policy for a while now :S

  • DEvok on 27/01/2015 - 21:35

    I also agree, mobiles phones are dam annoying, some of these guys start texting from start to end, and 50 people start to glare at them, and they don't notice.

    For the food I can't find the conditions, but from 1995 and up I do recall that only food was not allowed, and drinks where a ok, or either they did not enforce it properly, regardless, many many people through the years took all sorts of drinks with out any issue. Im not to sure why they're so keen from this year, what annoys me most is security also randomly checks the rooms now so people dobt hide their drinks or whatsoever.

    You can check my bag if you wish, go ahead check every bag, your gonna cause a massive line and that will be the day, they will regret it. Cause there will be a dramatic shrinkage in customers. George street is my main cinema, and I normally buy chat time. No body is gonna throw their drink out buddy, but there is a table with a lot of drinks which you may find near the pillar, some used and some new.

    • mirridon on 29/01/2015 - 16:22

      Someone brought Fish and Chips into Event Cinemas South Bank a while back, and I remember her leaving the cinemas without taking the empty paper, it smelt terrible.

      But I agree. They need a no hot food policy, but cold food is fine in my opinion. It's all about making money unfortunately.

      • victorhooi on 08/06/2015 - 10:33

        Yeah, see, they used that excuse for a long time - "no hot food, because of the smell".

        Then they started selling their own hot food - hamburgers, chips, pizzas etc.

        They then dispensed with that excuse (because really, it was just an excuse), and now go with "no competing food" - at least they've come clean about their real reasons.

    • lisss on 30/01/2015 - 19:32
      +1

      I remember being refused entry with outside drinks 20 years ago, back in the days of Greater Union.

  • spychiatrist on 28/01/2015 - 00:39

    $4.50 for a small bottle of water! Man, how can I enjoy the film if I get ripped off prior to the start of the movie I supposwd to enjoy?

  • Talonparty on 28/01/2015 - 04:12
    +1

    Man I must suck and probably need to hand in my ozbargain card. I get the tickets either free through coke or cheap through my uni, but I can't shake the popcorn demon. It's just part of the experience to me, and I know how much I'm getting ripped off. I guess I justify it to myself by thinking that it's helping my cinema make some extra money and hopefully keeping them around for longer.

    But lately they've been taking the piss. The cost keeps going up and up. Eventually it's going to hit some psychological barrier and even I won't buy it. I wonder how many people will, because I know I'm in the minority as it is. My wife hates it when I buy it, but what can I say, it's always been a part of the cinema experience and I suppose that's what they bank on.

    My mum's a shocker too, she loves the cinema and sometimes she'll pay big for the chocolates and stuff. It makes me angry because if the cinema was a bit more reasonable with the price we could go nuts and everyone would probably buy something every time we go, instead of just us diehards.

  • Daabido on 28/01/2015 - 05:57
    +1

    This site http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/movie-distribution2.h…
    and others explain the economics of movie distribution and why selling food and beverages is the lifeline of the cinema industry. I used to rail against buying cinema food but no longer. Or I just wait until I get out to have a feed, or have one before i go in.

  • Windows7forever on 28/01/2015 - 09:06

    It's a BS policy. You have paid good money for the ticket and should be able to eat/drink whatever you want. Maybe you feel like a big stinky curry to appease your appetite and have to bring it in from the local Indian takeaway shop. I've been concealing foodstuffs in bags for years after I learnt the lesson once trying to bring a Maccas bag into the cinema which was a bit obvious and stupid.

  • ProjectZero on 28/01/2015 - 09:55

    They've had this policy for a while if I remember correctly, as most people suggest, just bring a bag, they won't usually check anyway.

    Also, I don't know about you guys, but I prefer Event cinema over Hoyts… reason being, Event cinema in Castle Hill (closers one to me) is so much better then the Hoyts in Blacktown (closers to me). Hoyts at Blacktown may look good on the outside, but some of the seats are broken and just not worth the money.

    • victorhooi on 08/06/2015 - 10:34

      However, I believe they've started to enforce it more strictly, at least at Event Cinemas/Greater Union George Street, which is the one I normally go to.

  • smpantsonfire on 28/01/2015 - 12:23
    +1

    Can someone please link me to any Cinemas Policy regarding this? I can never find it when I look.

    If I buy tickets online, I expect a policy at the end of the email, or a link when I am buying a ticket.

    • DealzEddy123 on 28/01/2015 - 12:57
      +1

      Cinema Specific Policies
      Each Cinema of the Company has specific house polices such as Responsible Service of Alcohol and may have other conditions of entry that apply from time to time. These are made available at each Cinema and you agree to be bound by these. Cameras, audio and video recorders are not permitted inside any Cinema.

  • Pinchy on 28/01/2015 - 13:26

    I go to 3 different event cinemas… And I always take in Hungry jacks and snacks.

    Im holding the hot food bag in my hand as they tear the ticket (If theres someone even there to tear the ticket) while holding a frozen coke from Hungry jacks and snacks.
    They never say anything or care.

    When was this change suppose to happen. I remember it being a thing like 10 years ago or more.. but seems they got relaxed over the years.

    I go like almost every week. I went last week with no problem. Im going to event cinemas tonight so ill be sure to find out..

    Sure it isn't some of the event cinemas in Sydney or something? I assume different people own them as tickets can range from $8 to $21 for tickets at event cinemas.

  • ethan16 on 28/01/2015 - 13:47

    I gave up going to cinemas years ago because of their trend in becoming cafes

    Popcorn,lollies and the rest of the crap all rustling and ruining my viewing experience

    • Chef-Johnson on 30/01/2015 - 08:30

      geez you sure are miserable, try it again some time you may enjoy it

  • Cluster on 28/01/2015 - 13:51

    I thought it was standard practice to ban outside food and drinks. The concession stand is the major source of revenue for cinemas.

    My local Event Cinema has a 'meal deal' special: 4 medium popcorns, 4 medium drinks with tap water: $20. Maybe $2 of ingredients and it's all self serve so there's minimal labour costs involved.

  • SydStrand on 28/01/2015 - 17:13

    I don't understand the need to eat during a movie. It's only a 1.5-3 hour commitment, and you probably just had dinner too. Drinks though… my local Dendy sells alcohol which is great, but on the occasion I go to Event Cinemas, just sneak in a six pack of beer.

    • Windows7forever on 29/01/2015 - 06:48

      I can't understand why anyone needs a 6-pack of beer to get through a 2 hour movie?

      • [Deactivated] on 29/01/2015 - 07:50
        +1

        Perhaps Strand0410's partner is a movie-buff and he/she gets dragged along to many, many terrible movies fairly frequently…

      • cheng2008 on 29/01/2015 - 14:52

        Should've picked a better movie.

  • [Deactivated] on 28/01/2015 - 20:26

    It's always been the case at my local cinema since back when it was Birch Carroll & Coyle cinemas. It's never stopped me going to woolies first and just carrying it in in a bag.

  • lplau on 28/01/2015 - 20:30

    Most won't even care as they often hire teenagers and they don't care about the business. lol.

  • May4th on 28/01/2015 - 21:49

    i've taken food and drinks blatantly (in take away bags) without making any effort to hide it into hoyts/events and even imax before and never had any problems.. so i won't be able to do this any more?

  • Windows7forever on 29/01/2015 - 06:51
    +1

    Anyone keen to make a thread about free screenings you can get when you finish a film and jump ship to another random film that is halfway through lol. I see people do this all the time. They pretend they are going to the toilet, get 'lost', and 'stumble' into the wrong movie. You could theoretically spend a whole day at the movies watching all the releases…until you get caught.

    • Tal_Shiar on 29/01/2015 - 13:11

      I got in trouble with friends at a cinema in my youth, it brings out the inner security guard in them, I would do it just once lol

    • treeman on 30/01/2015 - 10:15

      I did this as a 15 or 16 year old.
      Friends told me about it. We saw the first movie then snuck in after toilets to see Tomcats from half way. My friends got over confident and snuck into Ms Congeniality for a third movie. I said I couldn't do it no longer, feeling guilty and left.

  • abh_gup on 29/01/2015 - 10:57

    Event Cinemas are no real Movie experiences anymore. Hoyts delivers far better service and quality any day.

  • shaiguy on 29/01/2015 - 11:06

    This policy is complete BS. I have always been told the policy was more so for hot food as it smells and gets into their air conditioning which spreads it even more (to other cinemas) which is fair enough. Usually I bring in something from the closeby Woolies or Coles. I can understand that they're trying to do it for profit etc. however, it is ridiculous. Reading the T&Cs on the website it does not look like a blanket rule but maybe more a cinema specific rule. I think it is ridiculous as the purpose is not for food. Next thing you know trains will only allow what you can buy from train stations, office workers can only eat food in their office from the food court in their building, etc.

    I don't think there is a formal rule which prevents this, however, I would be more than happy to sign any petition against this ridiculous rule.

    • victorhooi on 08/06/2015 - 10:36

      You realise the cinemas also sell hot food now, right? Hamburgers, pizzas, chips etc.

      And they've always had hot popcorn.

      The "hot food" thing was just a stupid excuse they made up to try to justify it - now that they've also gotten into selling hot food, their new one is "no competing food/drink", which I suppose is at least more truthful.

  • Stopback on 29/01/2015 - 11:10

    id prefer no food in a cinemia popcorn stinks, gets on chairs, sugar hits the seats, gum, and the smells become stale after a while, its 1 to 1 and a half hours

  • kabigon on 29/01/2015 - 14:47
    +2

    Bring in your own buffet if you want, just don't pull out your phone or you're gonna get it.

  • oscarthesausagedog on 30/01/2015 - 01:17

    I used to take a backpack of Supermarket munchies/drinks with me. Have refused to pay their BS prices for years. Nowadays, I grab a meal from Nandos just outside and walk straight it with it in my hand. Never been stopped.

  • snajper on 30/01/2015 - 09:18

    I usually have my sleeves full of snacks and food. I dare them to strip search me…. True OZB does not pay $15 for 20 cents worth of pop corns and 10 cents worth of cordial coke…

  • chir0nex on 30/01/2015 - 10:34

    Is it the same at Village cinemas in VIC?
    I certainly hope not!

  • Japius on 30/01/2015 - 12:32

    Given their terrible business model imposed on them by the studios it is understandable they want to protect their profitable income source (candy bar) but in my real world experience none have ever stopped me walking in with my own water bottle purchased from the supermarket downstairs

  • fatal on 30/01/2015 - 14:53

    Were you at Event cinema George St watching American Sniper?

  • T1OOO on 30/01/2015 - 15:31
    +1

    kinda why i dont go to the cimas anymore,..

    big screen TV, sound system, Bluray quality movie..

    microwave popcorn $2 for 2x big bags
    $2 for 2lt cocke zero
    $3 for nice chocolate.

    why would you go out ? really???

    no annoying queuing for tickets, for food and drink, then waiting for the previews to play for 15 minutes, and then advertising another 5-10 minutes. and getting a decent seat, with a screen thats decent quality, not ot mention all the idiots turing on the phones with bright screens durning the movie and talking……….

  • kabigon on 30/01/2015 - 19:25

    I go to the movies a lot and always take my own food/water (in a backpack, not holding it in an obvious way), never been asked to show my bag (would be interested if anyone has been asked..)

    Re: people being put off going to the movies because of excessive ads/trailers, I always aim to arrive just as the movie's starting (else I'd go bananas).

    Imax: 0-5 minutes
    ACMI: 5-10 minutes
    Astor / Cinema Nova: 10 minutes
    Village: ~15-20 minutes, rarely up to 25
    Hoyts: ~20 minutes, sometimes up to 25

    Seats closer to the front = less chance of some (profanity) shining a torch on my face. I have called people out on in, with some interesting reactions.

    Anyone who says there's hardly any good movies out in the last few years can't have looked for very long.

    • Windows7forever on 31/01/2015 - 09:14

      That's odd, Who would take a torch into the movie and shine it on your face?
      I see a staff member usually walk-in half-way through the movie holding a torch to check the exit doors are closed and ensure nobody is doing anything wrong.

      • kabigon on 04/02/2015 - 12:46

        I meant a mobile phone screen at 100% brightness in a dark room.

  • Cusack on 31/01/2015 - 07:56

    I ALWAYS take food in with me in my bag. Im not going to pay their ridiculous prices for snacks

  • microsnot on 31/01/2015 - 12:25

    I'm pretty sure they aren't infringing on your basic human rights here. Don't like their policy then you either sneak food/drinks in or don't buy a ticket. Alternatively, start your own cinema and you can set your own conditions of entry.

    In other news, I was shocked when my local had a problem with me going there and drinking my own bottle of scotch rather than buying from them at their inflated prices. Outrageous.

  • cantstanzya on 01/02/2015 - 00:32
    +1

    I always take crab legs in when I go to the cinema.
    Only when the candy bar starts selling decent crab legs will I comply.

  • LadyCocoa1234 on 01/02/2015 - 15:17

    Went to treat my mum at the Events Gold Class movies yesterday. We bought some salad to eat to the movie prior as my mum said she did not like anything from the gold class bar. I also ordered an Signiture Sunday for myself from the Events Bar. When the movie started one of the ladies told us that we are not allowed to bring food inside and that if staff saw us eating our food again it will be confiscated. As I looked up from the cinema, I saw staff checking us about every five minutes after that. I didn't pay $79 for 2 tickets for us to be treated like cocaine smugglers.

    Not only did I felt annoyed that we were disrupted in the middle of the movie, I also felt so embarrest in front of my mum. This was suppose to be a treat for her, a present. I decided to cancel my Signiture Sunday from the bar. Never will I pay these ridiculous prices for their disgusting service (opposite to gold class) ever again.

    • [Deactivated] on 01/02/2015 - 19:24

      I would've asked them if the Event's menu was gluten free (or whatever else you could think of food-intolerance wise). Considering your mum had a salad, it could've been easy to say she had a food intolerance and had a strict diet and could only eat certain things…

      Their menu doesn't seem to say anything about being gluten free or dairy free or whatever. Few options for you to think about next time if you decide to give it another shot with your mum :)

      Screw them trying to dictate what you can and can't eat.

  • iamnikon on 12/02/2015 - 20:07

    Event are the only cinemas available in the areas I frequent. I'm lucky enough to never have been confronted about bringing food/drinks (I used to drink Boost an unhealthy amount) - but 90% of the time any bag of chips would be in my bag and I've stopped bringing drinks into films because my bladder is stupidly small.

    I have been told to avoid bringing food in front of particular staff at locations but have only seen one particularly bad encounter. When I went to see Birdman at George St, the man in front of me at the ticket-ripping counter was holding a plastic bag with take-out boxes. The staff member told him he wasn't to bring food into the theatre and the guy said he wasn't going to eat it and he would put it in his bag, but the staff member said something like "I can't see you bring it in the theatre, even if you put it in your bag now" and basically told the guy that if he put it in his bag where the staff member couldn't see, he'd be let in. I found it very strange.

  • Denaz on 13/02/2015 - 19:06

    I always thought that was the case. I remember back when I was only a youngin my Grandma would take me, and she'd sneak in homemade popcorn and a couple of cans of coke, as you weren't supposed to do it.

    I personally factor it in to the cost of a movie, when I go to the cinema with the missus now, I go the full hog and do gold class. Am going to get ripped off anyway, so may as well get the full experience lol Although, that is also why we'd probalby only go to the movies twice in a year these days lol

  • financialwar on 06/07/2015 - 00:14
    -3

    I seriously don't understand why people would go to cinema to watch movies. Just get them off the internet, watch it on your bed with your girlfriend(s)/bootycall. And eat or drink anything you want, movie>sex>sleep>breakfast>shower>kick_her_out all in one continuous routine action. Cheap and guarantee lay. Taking a girl out to see a movie is more expensive, high probability that she will not come home with you, and can't touching each bother during the movie due to lack of privacy and now no eating your favorite food. Lame.

    I just don't get it.

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