Thousands of empty seats at European Athletics Championships spark criticism over ticket prices

Thousands of empty seats were visible at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, with nearly 10,000 spots unfilled on the opening day. Critics point to the ticket prices as a major reason for the low turnout.

On Monday, only 13,623 spectators attended the evening session, which featured Jakob Ingebrigtsen and the Norwegian relay team winning gold. The stadium in Birmingham has a capacity of 23,000. Despite the sparse crowd, organizers stated they are satisfied with ticket sales, which they claim are far exceeding expectations. They also noted that evening sessions on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are nearing capacity.

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Perhaps they should invite them down to make for better TV.

However, television images clearly showed many empty seats during Monday's session. The BBC reported that prime seats for Tuesday's 100-meter final cost around 1400 Norwegian kroner (approximately $130 USD). This is significantly higher than comparable seats for the same final at the European Championships in Rome two years ago, which were priced under 1000 Norwegian kroner. Some attendees reportedly opted for cheaper seats higher up in the stands for Monday's evening session.

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Paying 1400 kroner for the best tickets this weekend is fine, but not in the middle of the week.