Are the London 2012 Olympics ticket prices too expensive?

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As Spyns clients eagerly await their 2012 London Olympics tours, the London Summer Games organising committee is trying to bring order to chaos through "transparent ticketing". Funny how every Olympic organising committee pledges a fair and equitable games. Unfortunately year after year getting ticketing becomes an absolute feeding frenzy. Spyns offers London 2012 summer games tours with hotel, tickets, and sightseeing.

Taxpayers have stumped up billions to build the Olympic venues in London, yet with ticket prices of up to £725 for track and field finals, many will feel that only freebie-grabbing politicians and corporate hospitality guests will see the benefit. But are the London 2012 prices significantly higher than those charged at previous Olympics?

Compared to the Beijing Olympics in 2008, prices are certainly steep. Tickets for athletics finals in Beijing started from 200 yuan (£5.80), around a tenth of the minimum price demanded for London. But organisers say that given the much lower local incomes in China compared to the UK, it is fairer to compare prices to the earlier games in Athens 2004 and Sydney 2000.

But the figures suggest that even on this basis, London 2012 is very pricey. Athletics finals in Athens 2004 were a maximum of £255. Organisers have divided the athletics finals into two brackets – "finals" and "super finals" – with the latter covering the premium events such as the men's 100m final. The cheapest price for a ticket at a "super final" will be £50, but then it rises rapidly through the various seating brackets.

The best bargain for London 2012 is the opening ceremony tickets at £20.12, although quite how many will be made available at that price has not been revealed. In Athens and Sydney, minimum prices for the opening ceremony were much higher. But the best seats will cost more than £2,000 – four times the price in China and double any previous Olympic opening ceremony price.

A games spokesman said: "We finalised our pricing having gone through a careful process of benchmarking and analysis of previous games, other UK events and sporting events, as well as undertaking research. The desire has always been to balance our budget, but also to ensure that as many tickets as possible are priced in an accessible way and giving us full venues."

If you see the Olympics as a big yawn, yet live not too far from the action, then you should consider renting your property out. Tim Boughton of rental agency HomeAway Holiday-Rentals (holiday-rentals.co.uk) says homeowners could pick up as much as £2,000 a week.

"If the rental price rises seen in the South African World Cup are repeated, homeowners could generate an average of £4,500 by renting their houses during the 16-day event – an average of £2,000 per week," he says. "Even at this increased rate, holiday home rentals still often work out cheaper than similar standard hotels, making them an attractive option." But listing your home on the site costs £239 and any income from rents will be liable for tax.
Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.

Source
By Patrick Collinsonwww.guardian.co.uk