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European Athletics Championships in Birmingham criticised for empty seats, £150 tickets

Tickets, food, and parking means that the European Athletics Championships are half full.
Javier Escribano Editor Spain 12 August 2026

The 2026 European Athletics Championships are not attracting many people, at least during the first days of the competition during the week, with criticism of many empty seats in the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham and exorbitant ticket prices. During the Monday events, first day of the championships, when the Brit Amy Hunt won 100m, there was a reported crowd of 13,623, in a stadium with a capacity of 23,000, according to The Guardian.

The fact that most tickets sold were those in the upper rows, where the tickets were cheaper, means there are even more gaps in the closer stands, that look fairly bad on TV. Ticket prices have risen to £110 to £150 for Category A during weekday, while similar tickets cost 88 euros (£75) for the Rome event two years ago.

https://x.com/TimAdams76/status/2087477118858838447

The organisation also has high prices for other things like good (£15 for a hot dog, £18.50 for a pork roll or £3.95 for a bottle of water) while parking is £22.50, or a cheaper £17.50 for parking that is 45 minutes away on foot.

Editor Spain Javier Escribano wrote for Gamereactor from 2024, covering sport alongside video games and world news. His work appeared on the Spanish and international editions.
Full profile Gamereactor author since 2024 · 5,329 published articles
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