Olympics Ticket Prices!

[RobM77]

I'm not normally one to moan about things, but does anyone else feel that the ticket prices announced this morning are just way too high? To get an average seat for three hours at an average night of athletics, swimming or similar is £100 to £250 per person. For a family of four that's more than a budget holiday...

For comparison, if you want to sit in a similar stadium and watch a top line rock band from a good seat you'll typically pay £40 to £60, which I always thought was a lot, but a great night out and worth it. However, this is just the starting price for a very poor seat up in the gods for a few qualifying events in Athletics last two or three hours. Even an entire day at the British Grand Prix is cheaper than just three hours at an average Olympic event.

http://www.tickets.london2012.com/olyschedule_p1.h...

any thoughts?

[greygoose]

It does seem to be very expensive, I would have expected them to be similar to football match prices.

(Having said that I wouldn't have gone anyway)

[RobM77]

Check this out for an example:

Athletics

7th August 18:50 - 21:20 (2½ hours)

800m semi-final
High Jump Final
100m Hurdles semi
Long Jump qualifying

Tickets: £450 £295 £150 £95 £50

I can't seem to find an indication of what each price band gets you, but I should imagine the £50 ticket is a long way up at the back of a stadium without much of a view at all (the sort of seats you look at at a football or rugby match and think "I wonder what they can see from up there!"). In contrast, £50 will get you a really good seat to see the vast majority of major worldwide successfull rock bands. For example, the last band I saw was the Stereophonics for about £40 - seated, with a decent band supporting and about 4 hours of entertainment. Compare that with £300 for a good seat for 2 hours of athletics

[Matt..]

I would be fairly confident that whatever the prices virtually everything will sell out and it'll be impossible to get tickets. I will be trying to go to some events myself and can't imagine it being easy to get tickets!

[anonymous-user]

Its not even the prices that irritate me, they were always going to rip the arse out of them

Its the fact that they are fking up my local park for a good few months, making large parts inaccesible and we don't even get a courtesy ticket or a discount or anything

Yeah thanks a fking bunch!!

[TonyHetherington]

Blimey. I really want to go and see the badminton at Wembley arena. 20/35/50/75 for the preliminaries! And they're only 3 hour sessions!

[RobM77]

Matt.. said:

I would be fairly confident that whatever the prices virtually everything will sell out and it'll be impossible to get tickets. I will be trying to go to some events myself and can't imagine it being easy to get tickets!

This is the crux of the problem. To get over this they've allowed you to apply for multiple events early, which is why I pre-registered an interest over a year ago. The trouble is that you have to pay up front, and might accidentally end up getting four or five events costing over a thousand pounds .

I don't mean to sound like a scrooge, but I'm tempted instead to spend my money on seeing a few events by going on a week's holiday in the sun, a trip to a national championships next year in my chosen sport/s and just watching the Olympics on the TV at home. That would cost the same as seeing a few Olympic events live...

[hornetrider]

That does seem very expensive. Wait til 'hospitality' companies get hold of them

[Soovy]

British people won't get a look in mate.

I said from the start the Olympics should fk off. I was right.

[y2blade]

we are going for the equestrian three day eventing (on the 3rd day for the cross country) and for the clay shooting too.....I didn't think it was too expensive myself

[staceyb]

For the crappest seats to see the gymnastics it will be £320, not including getting to London and accomodation, not going to happen.

[RobM77]

y2blade said:

we are going for the equestrian three day eventing (on the 3rd day for the cross country) and for the clay shooting too.....I didn't think it was too expensive myself

Funnily enough I'm looking at this sort of thing in the schedule now and yes, it is much better value. I presume the huge costs of sorting out the main events in London (stadiums, olympic village etc) has been put onto those tickets.

For example, sailing is £35 for the whole afternoon, which is much more sensible, as is the Skeet (which I presume is the clay shooting you're going to?). I shall be applying for things like this I think.

[Podie]

RobM77 said:

I'm not normally one to moan about things,

...DBW throttles and FWD excepted...


Seriously though, the prices are a joke. Added to which, they'll all get hoovered up by touts or "re-selling agencies" and the people who actually want to go will be charged even more.

I work in London and I'm dreading the Olympics.

[amare32]

It's on the BBC so why the f@ck would I want to pay for it again to watch it. Yes, I get to watch it in the stadium woopie do. £250-£500+ I'd rather keep for other things thank you.

[y2blade]

Podie said:

RobM77 said:

I'm not normally one to moan about things,

...DBW throttles and FWD excepted...

you forgot

...DRL's, FOG-LIGHTS , MLMs ...... any more?

[ewenm]

I suspect I'll be going to watch the marathons but as that's free, I'm quite happy Disappointed the marathons are a week apart though - that means two trips up to London rather than just one.

However, looking at the schedule, I might have to go for the evening of 4th Aug at the stadium (Mo Farah, 10000m), watch the women's marathon on the 5th (hopefully my training partner will qualify), then into the stadium on the evening of the 5th for the 100m final and steeplechase final (my old event).

Would make a nice 36th birthday weekend for me

[hornetrider]

Podie said:

RobM77 said:

I'm not normally one to moan about things,

...DBW throttles and FWD excepted...

Don't forget the variable rack on the 987 either...

or is that kambites, I always get those pair mixed up

[RobM77]

hornetrider said:

Podie said:

RobM77 said:

I'm not normally one to moan about things,

...DBW throttles and FWD excepted...

Don't forget the variable rack on the 987 either...

or is that kambites, I always get those pair mixed up

Seriously though, there's a difference between pointing out stuff that's st and moaning about it, and I hope that the most I ever do is explain why I think it's st and mentioning it now and then. As for MLMs, fog lights etc I don't remember ever moaning about them. I may have commented on the odd thread, but that's about it.

[Podie]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/15_02_1...

Holy crap!

£2k to watch 3 hours of opening ceremony..!?!

[RobM77]

Podie said:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/15_02_1...

Holy crap!

£2k to watch 3 hours of opening ceremony..!?!

A week here:


or two hours watching this through binoculars:


tricky decision!