View Full Version : Olympic Tickets or the 2012 rip off
Quite fancied going to the olympics as a one off event for my life time but it looks like that dream is fading now.
Basically where are the concessions? I assume that the Olympic commitee do know that people live outside of London? The cost of travelling down to London and staying in London is extremely prohibitive normally, without factoring in olympic ticket prices, the undoubted hike in prices by both train companies hotel companies during the olympic weeks and I can see the catering being absolutely extorniate.
My other point is why is there blue riband events? If the seats are being decided on a ballot when over subscribed. This ballot should apply to all seats and prices be all the same. this would ensure that the Olympics that we have all paid for has equal accesiblity to all.
As usual something the average Joe has actual paid for is moved out of his financial reach.
I signed up as a first aid volunteer because I knew that would be the case, and the way I see it is that an olympics coming to your country really is a once in a lifetime thing, and when you've got a phenomenon like Usain Bolt walking the planet it was even more reason to.
You can list your choices of the events you'd like to be part of the most. Fingers crossed I get to first aid in the stadium at the time of the mens 100m and 200m. In my dreams though with my luck an all.
Littlepeahead
16-03-11, 09:34 AM
I'm so non-plussed about the whole thing that I'm sick of it already - and I work at one of the venues so next summer I may be forced to take all my holiday over the period of the games even though I don't like taking my holidays in the summer.
Jinxy43
16-03-11, 09:36 AM
Im kinda glad that I'll be a qualified medic by the time the olympics gets here, so that'll be 2 and a half weeks of loads of overtime (free seats) throughout the games and then theres the overtime through the para-olympics (Again free seats (which don't seem to be getting as much press)), plus the build up in weeks before and after the events.
Now if I could just give a rodents rectum about these games, when I feel the country should sort its self out first, then worry about hosting the olympics and para-olympics,
Just my tup'pence
oh look, another Olympics in Great Britain bashing thread.
lets put this politely, **** off you miserable *******s.
this thread is dead to me
OK keith, please can you pay for a ticket for me, wife and daughter, the train fare, and the hotel, and I'll gladly attend and share your happiness at havng the event here.
wyrdness
16-03-11, 10:12 AM
It's not about sport anymore, it's all about money. To give you an example, you can only buy tickets with a Visa card, because Visa have done a deal with the organisers. So if you have any other credit card, you're stuffed.
Ass far as I'm concerned, the Olympics have just become a corportate wank-fest.
punyXpress
16-03-11, 10:18 AM
Games, what games?
'tis just a ploy by keithd to clear the roads so's we can all get out and play for a couple of weeks.
How about a ' notthegames ' rideout or two?
OK keith, please can you pay for a ticket for me, wife and daughter, the train fare, and the hotel, and I'll gladly attend and share your happiness at havng the event here.
Ditto - prefer a ticket to the diving please!!
oh look, another Olympics in Great Britain bashing thread.
lets put this politely, **** off you miserable *******s.
this thread is dead to me
Lets have a look at the track record.
500 days to go and they launched the web site to sell tickets. It failed.
500 days to go and they launched the Countdown timer. It failed.
So far so good! We're sure to get the accolade for the worst Olympics ever! We just need to keep up the consistency!
Here's an idea. They could check it before the launch event to see if it doesn't work to make sure it doesn't work later. :)
"Lisa Simpson BlowJob Olympics Shambles Yooooooooh"!
Lets have a look at the track record.
500 days to go and they launched the web site to sell tickets. It failed.
500 days to go and they launched the Countdown timer. It failed.
So far so good! We're sure to get the accolade for the worst Olympics ever! We just need to keep up the consistency!
Here's an idea. They could check it before the launch event to see if it doesn't work to make sure it doesn't work later. :)
"Lisa Simpson BlowJob Olympics Shambles Yooooooooh"!
and people like you can rejoice in anything we get wrong then cant you. you can be happy to be proved right if things go wrong, you can continues to bitch and moan. have fun wont you
anyway, like i said, this is dead to me this thread because all it will do is annoy me. my last on the subject
and people like you can rejoice in anything we get wrong then cant you. you can be happy to be proved right if things go wrong, you can continues to bitch and moan. have fun wont you
anyway, like i said, this is dead to me this thread because all it will do is annoy me. my last on the subject
Is that a yes or a no to my polite request?
1) if they didn't C0ck it up, we couldn't moan, but they will so we can.
2) I can't stand this country so I couldn't care less if it goes right or wrong. However, it will go wrong because the wrong people are in charge.
But then we have the wrong people in charge everywhere. Which is why I can't stand this country. :)
BernardBikerchick
16-03-11, 10:39 AM
I am moving country when it all starts !!! :)
Holy fish!!! £2012 for the opening ceremony I bet the £20.12 seats are not even in the stadium Love the way the next bracket is £150
Beach Volleyball on Horseguards parade??
£450 for diving -
Keithd - I'm not surprised its taking a bashing - would love to go but cannot afford it. One ticket for diving is 2/3 of my wage now!
I'll stick with the childrens games and the para - if that isn't to prohibitive too.
Though to be pedanctic - olympics in great Britain - please call in olympics in London. That's like say commonwealth games2014 in Great Britain when its in Glasgow. - Okay ignored that - ther e is to be football played in scotland and other stadiums
punyXpress
16-03-11, 10:54 AM
and people like you can rejoice in anything we get wrong then cant you. you can be happy to be proved right if things go wrong, you can continues to bitch and moan. have fun wont you
anyway, like i said, this is dead to me this thread because all it will do is annoy me. my last on the subject
. . . and not a word of sympathy for Berlin losing his van brakes all over the Queen's Highway!
Paul the 6th
16-03-11, 11:19 AM
Lets have a look at the track record.
500 days to go and they launched the web site to sell tickets. It failed.
500 days to go and they launched the Countdown timer. It failed.
So far so good! We're sure to get the accolade for the worst Olympics ever! We just need to keep up the consistency!
Here's an idea. They could check it before the launch event to see if it doesn't work to make sure it doesn't work later. :)
"Lisa Simpson BlowJob Olympics Shambles Yooooooooh"!
I share carl's sentiments on the olympics and many other things we try and do as a country. Everything we do is generally crap and the olympics are just another chance to show how crap we are but with the whole world watching (and while we bang a shedload of cash down the drain in the middle of a recession).
Remember the millenium dome? Wtf was all that about? "To commemorate the millenium - we're building a big dome.... in the middle of the docklands (which was quite a crappy place at the time).... which we'll then sell after a few years because it's crap and no one's interested...."
I bet the french are glad they didn't win the bid now... "ah ah ah, luke at ze stupeed ingliszh over ze pond..."
There's a simple fix.
If whatever you are in charge of fails, We imprison you for the rest of your life.
...or shoot you, your choice!
End of **** ups. :)
C
....
anyway, like i said, this is dead to me this thread because all it will do is annoy me. my last on the subject
clearly not, thats the second time the thread has 'died' :smt016
Paul the 6th
16-03-11, 01:48 PM
clearly not, thats the second time the thread has 'died' :smt016
megalolz
SoulKiss
16-03-11, 02:33 PM
Basically where are the concessions? I assume that the Olympic commitee do know that people live outside of London? The cost of travelling down to London and staying in London is extremely prohibitive normally, without factoring in olympic ticket price.
Don't forget that we Londoners got the privilge of paying for more if than you.
punyXpress
16-03-11, 04:46 PM
When we paid for the railway so you can get there?
Let's see. 2 adults and 1 kid. We'll be environmentally friendly and take the train (Virgin, bucket class) from Shrewsbury to Euston. Sadly they don't give tix prices more than 12 weeks in advance. Return to London on the 9.31 from S'bury arrives Euston 12.14, open return with London Underground travelcard for the three of us is £462.50. Three tix for the evening Athletics show say on 5 August 2012 would be £125 each for a half decent seat.
Plus hotel room (family) - say £150.
Parking at S'bury station (we live 10 miles away) £8. If we got the bus it's £5 each return.
Train £462.50 (from Virgin website)
Tix £375 (from Olympics website)
Hotel £150 (guesstimate)
Total excluding food and drink etc = £995.50
Perhaps those who think it's all such a jolly and wonderful occasion should think about this.
It's totally unaffordable for people like me.
Let's see. 2 adults and 1 kid. We'll be environmentally friendly and take the train (Virgin, bucket class) from Shrewsbury to Euston. Sadly they don't give tix prices more than 12 weeks in advance. Return to London on the 9.31 from S'bury arrives Euston 12.14, open return with London Underground travelcard for the three of us is £462.50. Three tix for the evening Athletics show say on 5 August 2012 would be £125 each for a half decent seat.
Plus hotel room (family) - say £150.
Parking at S'bury station (we live 10 miles away) £8. If we got the bus it's £5 each return.
Train £462.50 (from Virgin website)
Tix £375 (from Olympics website)
Hotel £150 (guesstimate)
Total excluding food and drink etc = £995.50
Perhaps those who think it's all such a jolly and wonderful occasion should think about this.
It's totally unaffordable for people like me.
So what you're saying is that just to be able to get to London to watch the olympics with your kids it's gonna cost you £624.50.
And so you're saying it's unfair tickets are around £125 each? Even if the tickets were £50, you'd still be looking at £700+ which is not cheap.
For those annoyed about expense of olympics cos they live far from London, the bulk of your expense is for that very reason, you live far from London!
I can't complain about pricey LA Lakers tickets if it costs me £600 to get there in the first place.
Yes, but its isn't the London olympics is it?
SoulKiss
17-03-11, 12:00 AM
Yes, but its isn't the London olympics is it?
So what you're saying is that just to be able to get to London to watch the olympics with your kids it's gonna cost you £624.50.
And so you're saying it's unfair tickets are around £125 each? Even if the tickets were £50, you'd still be looking at £700+ which is not cheap.
For those annoyed about expense of olympics cos they live far from London, the bulk of your expense is for that very reason, you live far from London!
I can't complain about pricey LA Lakers tickets if it costs me £600 to get there in the first place.
Or put it another way, how much/month extra do you think it would cost to live in the equivilent house you have now in an equivilently decent area in London?
About £600/month maybe?
So you are getting off lightly.
Personally I think, with the way the world economy has gone, we ended up with a White Elephant/Poisoned Chalice in this one.
What beggers belief is they then spent/wasted more money chasing the World Cup...
oh look, another Olympics in Great Britain bashing thread.
lets put this politely, **** off you miserable *******s.
this thread is dead to me
I know you wont read this reply keithd, since this thread is dead to you, which is Ironic as you dont seem to have read the content or the reason why I started the thread in the first place either.
I dont want to bash the olympics. Being an Engineer and working on some of the olympic works myself throughout London, I think they have done an outstanding job on getting everthing done in time. I also think we have a great chance of doing well and I think that we will run a good games.
My gripe was that they dont seem to have factored in the costs to anybody who has to travel from outside London or stop in London to watch an event. They sign deals for hotels and the like for the marathon why not the olympics? I was also raising the point that there shoudnt be any pricing structure. All seats one price for all, then the luck of the ballot takes over. This isnt a private enterprise to make money, we have all paid for this and yet we wont all get the chance to benefit due to being priced out of it. This was a brilliant opportunity to allow the whole of Britain to celebrate what will be a one off event in our life time and yet greed and shortsightedness seem to have put paid to that.
In short I would love to go but they seem to have forgot to factor in the average wage in this country and the fact that with the cost of travel this is going to the out of reach to many families throughout the country.
Oh and on a final note, I love a passionate argument from both sides but I dont appreciate beign told to....how did you put it...ahh yes "**** off you miserable *******s" especially when you didnt even understand the content of the thread.
But hey ho bygones ;)
Don't forget that we Londoners got the privilge of paying for more if than you.
Noted SoulKiss, but you will also have the benefits of the infrastructure once the games are over and your local economy has been boosted through all the work. Swings and roundabouts and ting.
My gripe was that they dont seem to have factored in the costs to anybody who has to travel from outside London or stop in London to watch an event.
Ok, well one person has already stated it would cost their family of 2adults and 1child £624.50 just to get to London in the first place.
If we factor this in as a cost, then you should charge tickets at 1p, because £624.53 is a lot of money for 2 adults and a child to see one event.
What price would you say is fair? Even at current prices, transport is still going to be 80% of the cost for those who live far from London. Can't blame trains/petrol/hotel costs on the olympics now can you?
Ok, well one person has already stated it would cost their family of 2adults and 1child £624.50 just to get to London in the first place.
If we factor this in as a cost, then you should charge tickets at 1p, because £624.53 is a lot of money for 2 adults and a child to see one event.
What price would you say is fair? Even at current prices, transport is still going to be 80% of the cost for those who live far from London. Can't blame trains/petrol/hotel costs on the olympics now can you?[/QUOTE]
You can if they inflate them during the olympics and we all know thats going to happen.
C
keith_d
17-03-11, 08:34 AM
Ticket prices are high because the costs of running an event like this in London are high. Unfortunately, it's only relatively rich countries that can afford to stage the olympics, so ticket prices are always going to be high. As our american managers would say, "get over it !"
I quite fancy seeing some of the badminton. But the ticketing system puts me off completely. They can't tell me which tickets (or even which block of seats) I'm booking. And they're going to charge me before they know if I'm actually getting any seats. There are so many ways this can go wrong that I'm not sure I'll bother.
Keith.
Ticket prices are high because the costs of running an event like this in London are high. Unfortunately, it's only relatively rich countries that can afford to stage the olympics, so ticket prices are always going to be high. As our american managers would say, "get over it !"
Why should we 'get over it'? Why should we accept high prices for everything? Why is it unacceptable to complain, why am I accused by the other keith of moaning and whining? Aren't I entitled to complain?
And besides, his rudeness is simply a red rag to a bull.
I'm with Keith in certain aspects - the fact that you can only book once and you are not being told what tickets you are getting and where i think is a jolly poor show. esp when advice is to book more that what you need to guarantee seats. I can expect to afford all tickets if all come through - but I'll be charged.
Yes the cost is high but the standard of living ain't that higher than other places round UK - Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen are all but equals to London these days.
And just because the cost are high does not mean that ticket prices have to be high. the prices are prohibitive to Londoners too before travel costs are put on.
I know the commonwealth isn't as big but we have a commitment to making sure it's accessible to all despite the high cost of the new builds and roads ( which were pushed forward) Its not that hard - most tickets are a nearly half of a weeks benefits!
I think its seen os the London olympics therefore becuase it SOoooooooooo much more to live there the tickets go up to ensure that a profit is made - and to me that go against the whole ethos of sport. BUT that is the world today :reaper:
Ok, well one person has already stated it would cost their family of 2adults and 1child £624.50 just to get to London in the first place.
If we factor this in as a cost, then you should charge tickets at 1p, because £624.53 is a lot of money for 2 adults and a child to see one event.
What price would you say is fair? Even at current prices, transport is still going to be 80% of the cost for those who live far from London. Can't blame trains/petrol/hotel costs on the olympics now can you?
What is it with people who cant read just lately. My arguments are:
That all tickets should have cost the same so the that the Milkman and his family have the same chance of seeing 100metre mens final in a prime seat as the banker and his family. After all we have all paid for it.
Secondly that if they can do conssessions for the Marathon then why not the Olympics? We all know that hotels and travel to london are extortinate so why not offer concessions here as well even if you only got 20% off thats £140 of £700 an amount not to be sneezed at.
In short, going to London is expensive...period. To not even recognise that for what is a state funded and driven event for everyone I find incredible short sighted and sad.
Quite fancied going to the Olympics as a one off event for my life time but it looks like that dream is fading now.
Basically where are the concessions? I assume that the Olympic committee do know that people live outside of London? The cost of travelling down to London and staying in London is extremely prohibitive normally, without factoring in Olympic ticket prices, the undoubted hike in prices by both train companies hotel companies during the Olympic weeks and I can see the catering being absolutely extortionate.
My other point is why is there blue ribboned events? If the seats are being decided on a ballot when over subscribed. This ballot should apply to all seats and prices be all the same. this would ensure that the Olympics that we have all paid for has equal accessibility to all.
As usual something the average Joe has actual paid for is moved out of his financial reach.Concessions :lol: Its just as dear if you live in London you know. Ok, so i can get there on my Oyster card, but your house is half the price of what mine would cost, so you cant have it always...Northerners :lol:;)
Luckypants
17-03-11, 02:00 PM
Parking at S'bury station (we live 10 miles away) £8. If we got the bus it's £5 each return.
Train £462.50 (from Virgin website)
Rather disingenuous don't you think? As there are three of you in your example it is more cost effective to drive, although with fuel prices as they are it is still a considerable sum. I like to watch Wales when I can and the travel cost for 4 to car share to Cardiff is about £25 while the train would be about £50
I take the point that travel costs are a major factor in addition to ticket prices though, but have to point out that such costs are inherent in wanting to attend a major event - unless you have the good fortune to live nearby to the venue. In the example of watching Wales play, I have to accept the travel cost as 'part of the deal'.
I would like to see the Olympics as it is a 'once in a lifetime' event in the UK, so will be saving the pennies to try to get tickets for a number of events. I'm trying for the Opening/Closing ceremonies too and if I get my tickets I'll worry about getting there then.
No it isn't disingenuous. Why should I drive? What if I didn't have a drivers licence or didn't feel confident to drive that far? Where do I park? It's many years since I lived in London, and then it was a different part. Do London hotels have car parks? Is it all stitched up, like the Visa card only thing?
Luckypants
17-03-11, 03:22 PM
For the purposes of comparisons it seemed fair to use the least cost mode of transport, that's all. There is no compulsion to drive but when the car has more than two occupants it is often the cheapest form of transport.
Agree that if you are unable to drive, then it's a valid point. But most people are able to drive, you included ;)
What is it with people who cant read just lately. My arguments are:
That all tickets should have cost the same so the that the Milkman and his family have the same chance of seeing 100metre mens final in a prime seat as the banker and his family. After all we have all paid for it.
Firstly I can read and I didn't dispute this, so no need to repeat the point twice.;)
Secondly that if they can do conssessions for the Marathon then why not the Olympics? We all know that hotels and travel to london are extortinate so why not offer concessions here as well even if you only got 20% off thats £140 of £700 an amount not to be sneezed at.
In short, going to London is expensive...period. To not even recognise that for what is a state funded and driven event for everyone I find incredible short sighted and sad.
I think it is perhaps you who is not reading quite so closely. I quote
Ok, well one person has already stated it would cost their family of 2adults and 1child £624.50 just to get to London in the first place.
If we factor this in as a cost, then you should charge tickets at 1p, because £624.53 is a lot of money for 2 adults and a child to see one event.
What price would you say is fair? Even at current prices, transport is still going to be 80% of the cost for those who live far from London.
Put it another way, if someone is willing to pay £600+ to get down to London in the first place, what do you think a fair ticket price would be? Concessions for a yearly domestic event like a marathon is much different to a worldwide event like the olympics.
My point is...even at current ticket prices, if you live far from London the vast percentage of the total cost would be getting there in the first place. So complaining about the ticket prices is almost just an excuse to complain about nothing. If tickets were free even, £600 plus for 3 people for 1 event is still insane.
We are a country just like the United States is a country. When the olympics were in Georgia 96 I'm sure it would have been financially prohibiting for the majority of Americans to trek across their country to make it (same with Sydney/Montreal/wherever theyve been held in the past). It may be the olympics of this country but they are in London, and if you live so far that it costs more than half a grand to get down (and you're willing to pay that even) then can't complain that tickets are £125 instead of £50 or whatever you think they should be.
I think clearly the fact that some people would be willing to pay £600+ to get down in the first place highlights that £125 is not such an unreasonable price.
Bluefish
17-03-11, 06:08 PM
Let's see. 2 adults and 1 kid. We'll be environmentally friendly and take the train (Virgin, bucket class) from Shrewsbury to Euston. Sadly they don't give tix prices more than 12 weeks in advance. Return to London on the 9.31 from S'bury arrives Euston 12.14, open return with London Underground travelcard for the three of us is £462.50. Three tix for the evening Athletics show say on 5 August 2012 would be £125 each for a half decent seat.
Plus hotel room (family) - say £150.
Parking at S'bury station (we live 10 miles away) £8. If we got the bus it's £5 each return.
Train £462.50 (from Virgin website)
Tix £375 (from Olympics website)
Hotel £150 (guesstimate)
Total excluding food and drink etc = £995.50
Perhaps those who think it's all such a jolly and wonderful occasion should think about this.
It's totally unaffordable for people like me.
well that £995.50 is a 2 week euro tour on the bike for me and the mrs, all inclusive. don't think i'll be going to the olympics :rolleyes:
Put it another way, if someone is willing to pay £600+ to get down to London in the first place, what do you think a fair ticket price would be? Concessions for a yearly domestic event like a marathon is much different to a worldwide event like the olympics.
But you seem to be still missing my argument on the prices for the tickets ;)
my point is they should be all one reasonable price £20, £25 , similar to a normal event. then if you buy a ticket the ballot decides what seat you can get and not how much you earn. I simply thought we should all have a fair crack at decent seats for say the opening ceremony.
If the number of tickets are to be beleived at 6.6m this means that for a short period the near equivalent to the current popluation of london visiting the games. Thats a hell of a lot of money being pumped into the economy down there and why shouldnt some of it be put back through consessions.
Anyway it doesnt matter Im using the money I'm saving to take the family to America for those 2 weeks ;)
Bluefish
18-03-11, 12:37 AM
Agree Rog, wouldn't pay them prices ever, even if bolt ran 100mtrs in 5 secs, still a rip off. There will probably be more foreigners than British their. The people that paid for it mainly can't aford to go, unless those Londoners aint as skint as they make out.
Agree Rog, wouldn't pay them prices ever, even if bolt ran 100mtrs in 5 secs, still a rip off. There will probably be more foreigners than British their. The people that paid for it mainly can't aford to go, unless those Londoners aint as skint as they make out.
Totally agree
But through taxes, and Lottery money, we paid for the build NOT for tickets. And quite why the cost of travel has anything whatsoever to do with it is beyond me other than being used as a tenuous link to strengthen an (weak) argument.
When I took my two boys, and Mrs w to see the British Open it was £250 to get in and £220 for a night in a hotel(2 rooms) + fuel + typical event prices for food and drink. But that's the going rate for an event like that. It's over £100 when we go and see the excitement that Middlesbrough football club produce, and that's for 90 mins dire 'entertainment.'
So what would you expect to pay to see the best in the world for x hours? I agree the method of getting the tickets is cr@p and the prices for some events is steep but on the whole I can't see what all the whinging is about...
Bri it's all about affordability. Even if I lived next door to the site I couldn't afford a ticket. Is it right that the tix should cost so much? I don't have any knowledge of the costs of arranging this sort of event nor how the tix prices were worked out, but I do know that I can't afford them. The travel and hotel cost simply makes the cost of a visit even worse. I don't think I'm in a minority. Overall I'm disappointed that so much of the country is being disenfranchised.
Ed, what an individual can afford, and what is sensible pricing are different issues.
Looking at some of the pricing, e.g. over £2k for a prime seat at the mens 100m final, it smacks of profiteering. But compared to the prices of tickets for top events in this country the majority of tickets are priced there or there abouts.
Once upon a time I could take the boys(men now) and Barbs to the footie for what was a reasonable amount based against earnings. Within 5 yrs that was no longer affordable on a regular basis. Unfortunately that's now mirrored for the vast majority of events. However, if you go abroad for top events its very affordable - we can fly to Portugal, stay 5 days and watch the Portuguese Masters for what it costs for 1 night, and tickets to the Open.
Maybe the discussion should be about ripoff Britain?
454697819
18-03-11, 12:45 PM
Ed, what an individual can afford, and what is sensible pricing are different issues.
Looking at some of the pricing, e.g. over £2k for a prime seat at the mens 100m final, it smacks of profiteering. But compared to the prices of tickets for top events in this country the majority of tickets are priced there or there abouts.
Once upon a time I could take the boys(men now) and Barbs to the footie for what was a reasonable amount based against earnings. Within 5 yrs that was no longer affordable on a regular basis. Unfortunately that's now mirrored for the vast majority of events. However, if you go abroad for top events its very affordable - we can fly to Portugal, stay 5 days and watch the Portuguese Masters for what it costs for 1 night, and tickets to the Open.
Maybe the discussion should be about ripoff Britain?
but its not a top event... i'm sorry when Catherine cant get a contract because the monies for student support have been cut because the government committed stupid monies to host these olympics it frustrates me that the tickets are so much.
Im not that interested tbh what ****es me off is they are paying for it with my monies when waaaaaaaay more important things actually need paying for that some flipping stadiums in fooking **** hole london
.
Looking at some of the pricing, e.g. over £2k for a prime seat at the mens 100m final, it smacks of profiteering. But compared to the prices of tickets for top events in this country the majority of tickets are priced there or there abouts.
Gymnastic world cup - one of the last top compeitions for the Olympic hopeful - £15 a session for fours hours and thats top whack.
depends on where you are and what sport - football over priced but people will still pay it!
Unfortunately the the Olympics is a top event its the pinnacle of the chosen sports.
If you think it sbad how do you think those in Shetland/Orkney's feel using their money to pay for it too and they have NO chance to attend
The commitment to host the games was made when world economies were on an all time high. In an ideal world every student would get contracts/courses/front row seats to everything but Utopia doesn't exist. And unfortuantely world economies mean we're a long way from achieving anything like a comfortable existence let alone doing everything we'd like to do.
I suppose we could hope that there's a change of mind and tickets will be sold for a tenth of the price, which will make everyone happy, and s0d the sensible economics.
People in the Shetlands/Orkneys DO have a chance, just like everyone else but their travelling expenses will be higher. And again, in an ideal world the Olympics would have been held somewhere more central but it would be naive to expect that. Imagine what its like for the vast majority of countries, who are a lot bigger than the UK, and the travelling needed there.
In real terms everyone has had how many years to save for what is a once in a life time chance to go and see the Olympics in the UK? So if people had banked £2 per week from the date it was announced it would be held in London...7yrs. 6 years times £2 per week = £624 + a yr to save up for spending money...
I'm with Keith_d on this, too many whingers.
Bri - the last comments were actually aimed at 454697819. I know people have evey chance to attend but I was trying to put his comments into perspective. (I understand the travelling despite it being cheaper to leave the country than fly internally unlike most countries) Probably the furthest people away from it yet they still have to pay for it too and they are least likely to attend and not just for financial reasons.
I'm not whinging I know now I cant afford to go - i dislike the practice they have put in place to get tickets. I think that is putting a lot of people off - the ones that think they could possible afford to go but the uncertainity puts them off - I would be in that category.
as for changing the tickets price we know it ain't going to happen. and even if it did peopel would still not be happy.
Ceri JC
18-03-11, 03:52 PM
I don't care whether it costs £10 a ticket or £10,000. I won't go either way. The whole thing is a pointless, pointless waste of (everyone's) money in my eyes.
I'm not whinging I know now I cant afford to go - i dislike the practice they have put in place to get tickets. I think that is putting a lot of people off - the ones that think they could possible afford to go but the uncertainity puts them off - I would be in that category.
as for changing the tickets price we know it ain't going to happen. and even if it did peopel would still not be happy.
abi, I'm in the same catagory as you with the ticketing. I'm not commiting to something that is so vague. I can get to London for almost nothing, apart from a 4.5hr drive, and can stay for nothing but the ticketing process is just rubbish. Bet the likes of Beckham et al won't have any problem at all getting a ticket for a decent seat for whatever event he likes - now that does p!$$ me off.
The tv is big enough, and the picture crystal clear, and doesn't have someone's head in the way. The sofa is big and comfy, and there'll be beer in the fridge. Plus there'll be close up's/reruns/slo-mo's of the exciting bits.
And for those that are lucky enough to get the seats they want via the ballot. Good luck to them, and I hope they enjoy it.
Bluefish
18-03-11, 07:15 PM
and don't forget to add on the cost of food and drink, what do you reckon everything £5, burger, can of coke, sarnie, no thanks. If people fall for the hype, save up their hard earned and want to waste it on the olympics good luck to them, i'll watch it on the tele, can i have a tax rebate now ;)
The Idle Biker
18-03-11, 07:34 PM
Well I'm a massive pro Olympics fan.......but the ticketing and overall pricing is scandalous. The Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt (gimme a C), said on the Marr show last weekend that he thought there was an obligation to price high to recoup costs. Bollox. It'll be lip service savings only. If the public pays and, like I said I'm a fan, then make it bloody affordable.
Give yes give the tickets to the local club athletic coaches and clubs around the country, the stalwarts who keep their respective sports alive around the UK, sailing, cycling whatever.
Maybe I just want the Olympics to suceed too much or maybe I just hate Jeremy expenses scandal Hunt too much.
Written on blackberry excuse typos
The Idle Biker
18-03-11, 07:35 PM
Well I'm a massive pro Olympics fan.......but the ticketing and overall pricing is scandalous. The Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt (gimme a C), said on the Marr show last weekend that he thought there was an obligation to price high to recoup costs. Bollox. It'll be lip service savings only. If the public pays and, like I said I'm a fan, then make it bloody affordable.
Give yes give the tickets to the local club athletic coaches and clubs around the country, the stalwarts who keep their respective sports alive around the UK, sailing, cycling whatever.
Maybe I just want the Olympics to suceed too much or maybe I just hate Jeremy expenses scandal Hunt too much.
Written on blackberry excuse typos
But through taxes, and Lottery money, we paid for the build NOT for tickets. And quite why the cost of travel has anything whatsoever to do with it is beyond me other than being used as a tenuous link to strengthen an (weak) argument.
When I took my two boys, and Mrs w to see the British Open it was £250 to get in and £220 for a night in a hotel(2 rooms) + fuel + typical event prices for food and drink. But that's the going rate for an event like that. It's over £100 when we go and see the excitement that Middlesbrough football club produce, and that's for 90 mins dire 'entertainment.'
So what would you expect to pay to see the best in the world for x hours? I agree the method of getting the tickets is cr@p and the prices for some events is steep but on the whole I can't see what all the whinging is about...
Bri, all the sports you mention above are proffesional sports and charge what the market will bare. While people are willing to pay say th prices you mention they will continue to do it but of course the double edge sword is that they could end up pricing out their core customy base.
The Olympics on the other hand is an amateur event. It is not here to make money, but merely to pay for itself as a celebration of sport all over the world. You should not therefore compare them as they are totally different. In some ways it would be better to bump up the TV rites and give the tickets away free and allow for the boost to the local economy through catering hotels and general tourism to make your money.
Bri, all the sports you mention above are proffesional sports and charge what the market will bare. While people are willing to pay say th prices you mention they will continue to do it but of course the double edge sword is that they could end up pricing out their core customy base.
The Olympics on the other hand is an amateur event. It is not here to make money, but merely to pay for itself as a celebration of sport all over the world. You should not therefore compare them as they are totally different. In some ways it would be better to bump up the TV rites and give the tickets away free and allow for the boost to the local economy through catering hotels and general tourism to make your money.
rog, the athletes may be amatuers but the balance of paying for the stadia, the staffing of the stadia, the ultilities for the stadia, the marshalling and policing of the stadia, the marketing of the games, the maintanance of the stadia, the running costs of the Olympic villages, the feeding of the athletes, the busing them to the various venues. The tooth fairy won't pay for those.
If those costs were passed onto the Tv companies, or other commercial companies, e.g. Visa, who will end up paying in the long run. Push those costs too far onto the commercial organisations and then you lose the commercial sponsors. If the commercial organisations take their money elsewhere then the various individual sponsorships (pretend jobs) paid to athletes will go with them.
When the dust settles, even with the crazy pricing for some events, the games will almost certainly make a loss. But the various franchising, tourism etc will make plenty, which will filter back into the economy. And in that respect we'll all be winners, albeit with a small w.
-Ralph-
19-03-11, 10:23 AM
So what would you expect to pay to see the best in the world for x hours? I agree the method of getting the tickets is cr@p and the prices for some events is steep but on the whole I can't see what all the whinging is about...
Ed, what an individual can afford, and what is sensible pricing are different issues.
Looking at some of the pricing, e.g. over £2k for a prime seat at the mens 100m final, it smacks of profiteering. But compared to the prices of tickets for top events in this country the majority of tickets are priced there or there abouts.
Once upon a time I could take the boys(men now) and Barbs to the footie for what was a reasonable amount based against earnings. Within 5 yrs that was no longer affordable on a regular basis. Unfortunately that's now mirrored for the vast majority of events. However, if you go abroad for top events its very affordable - we can fly to Portugal, stay 5 days and watch the Portuguese Masters for what it costs for 1 night, and tickets to the Open.
Maybe the discussion should be about ripoff Britain?
I agree that sensibility and affordability are not linked. A sensible price for a luxury, may have no relation to whether or not an individual can afford that luxury. £20 quid is a great price for a nice bottle of Champagne, but that doesn't mean you can afford to drink a couple of bottles a week.
From some of the things you've alluded to above, it looks to me like you agree with Ed's complaint that the pricing isn't sensible though. Just because it's on a par with some other top sporting events, doesn't mean it's a sensible price. Take football as one of the worst offenders, and probably the culprit in terms of inflating sports events prices to this level, if footballers were paid sensible salaries, ticket prices also might be a bit more sensible. There is a hell of a lot of money floating around in football, that just wasn't there 15 or 20 years ago, but do they play any more fixtures, or pay 1000x more to maintain a stadium? No, it's just a grossly inflated artificial flow of money.
Sport IMO should be vocational. You do it because you love it and because you are driven to be the best. It's not so long ago that Rugby Union was not a professional sport, but the National teams still attracted Europe's best Rugby players and the Six Nations was still a massive event, as does and is the Olympics. The Rugby being played over the past few weeks is not "better quality" sport than the rugby that was played pre-1995. Now that sport has all this money flowing around, it's nigh on impossible to get rid of it, but it shouldn't NEED it to function.
Back to the Champagne though. Next time your in the North of France go into a wine shop and ask to be recommended a Cremant D' Alsace, or a Cremant D' Burgoyne. Exactly the same as champagne, made with the same grapes, using the same processes, but not made in the Champagne region near Reims, so can't be sold as "Champagne", and will be 1/2 the price. Is the cost of production double because your inside some line on a map? No, Champagne is just a rip off too. There is actually no such thing as a "sensible" price on luxury goods, somebody's always making more money than they would do if they were selling bread and milk. Sporting events really do take the pi$$ though.
-Ralph-
19-03-11, 10:33 AM
rog, the athletes may be amatuers but the balance of paying for the stadia, the staffing of the stadia, the ultilities for the stadia, the marshalling and policing of the stadia, the marketing of the games, the maintanance of the stadia, the running costs of the Olympic villages, the feeding of the athletes, the busing them to the various venues. The tooth fairy won't pay for those.
So why are sporting events so much cheaper in other countries? Don't they have the same costs?
The answer is because this is rip off Britain, and we as a nation allow the gravy train to run 24/7/365. The will be any number of organisations out there that are make shedloads of money out of this event, and in the all of the costs you have mentioned above there will be huge pots of money wasted and flittered away by those in charge.
The same reason why it costs the UK many times more per mile to construct a motorway, than our counterparts in Europe. We are the worlds experts in wasting money, spending it twice, and convincing ourselves that we need to spend on things that we don't actually need and doesn't provide any benefit, especially when we have our paws on the public purse.
timwilky
19-03-11, 10:38 AM
I for one will not be paying any attention to the vanity games. I object that the public should have to pay for them, the tax payer had no choice, the people of London have no choice. It was simply vanity that the government of the time brought them here when they knew we could not afford it.
Sport should pay for itself, my season ticket cost £209, I get to see 19 premier league games for that. Why would anyone pay 10 times that to see grown men run on a track?
vBulletin® , Copyright ©2000-2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.