Olympics:Sports fans hoping to make the short journey across the Irish Sea for next year's Olympic Games were able to get an idea of just how much the trip could cost them after organisers announced the competition schedule and ticket prices for the London showpiece.
Some 2.2 million subscribers to an official Olympic email service were given a sneak preview of the times, dates and pricing categories this morning with tickets due to go on sale on March 15th.
Naturally enough, the blue riband events in athletics will command top dollar with VIP seats at the Olympic Stadium for the men’s 100 metres final going for as much as €890. The closing two days at the track, Friday August 10th and Saturday August 11th, will also be priced at the same structure.
However, the highest prices were reserved for those wishing to attend both the opening and closing ceremonies. Those looking for the best seats in the house when the Olympic cauldron is lit will be asked to part with €2,390 (£2,012, appropriately enough) while VIP seats for the closing ceremony will cost €1,790.
For those hoping to follow Grainne Murphy’s exploits in the Aquatics Centre, tickets will range in price from €23 for some of the heats to €540 for the Category AA seats in finals.
Given the boxing team’s success in Beijing, the ExCel boxing arena will be another obvious port of call for Irish fans with tickets for the all-important finals available from €113 to €470.
Sebastian Coe launched the detailed schedule for the London 2012 Olympics and admitted that the arrival of the “greatest show on earth” now feels just around the corner.
“This is a really big moment, a huge moment. In this project, every day you get closer, every day it becomes more of a living creature,” Coe said. “In my own experience as a competitor this is the point that it suddenly becomes very real.”