London Assembly criticises over-priced Olympics tickets
A report into the ticketing strategy adopted at the London 2012 Olympics has criticised the lack of affordable spaces for those on low incomes, noting that the average cost of entry for a punter watching Mo Farah grab gold in the 5,000m was a wallet debilitating £333.
The London Assembly economy committee analysed ticket sales from a raft of key events, finding them to lie outwith the discretionary spend of much of the country; particularly in athletics finals where the average cost of entry would set you back £400.
Criticism was also levelled at the complex ballot process that lay behind the sale of the 11m tickets, with detailed information on the volume of tickets sold and their price only belatedly coming to light.
In fact Games organisers exceeded their ticket sales target by 32%, raking in £657m.
Committee chair Andrew Dismore, said: "… for many ordinary people the lack of available affordable tickets for certain sessions meant there was little chance of them being in the crowd to see their sporting heroes win gold.
"Given that ticket sales massively exceeded their target, this was a missed opportunity to reward those taxpayers who funded the Games and inspire a generation to participate in sport."