How Much Do Olympics Tickets Cost?

The Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics are the largest and most famous international sporting events in the world, each happening only once every four years with about two years between each event. Due to its infrequency and popularity, tickets for both events are a hot commodity. Read on to learn about what exactly it costs to attend the world’s greatest sporting event.

Authorized Ticket Resellers

Due to particular laws and companies present in different host nations, tickets for the Olympics are sold through authorized ticket resellers, often referred to by their acronym: ATRs. Even though the cost of airfare varies from location to location, the cost of each ticket remains relatively similar depending on local tax law. These tickets must be purchased through the ATR representing your current country of residence. The ATR generally used in the United States to purchase Olympic tickets is CoSport. 

In 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) struck a massive hospitality bill that may make ATRs a redundant model. Instead of relying on countries to appoint their own local ATRs, an international IOC-approved website will be maintained from which hopeful attendees can purchase tickets to the games starting with the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. It is to be seen how this will roll out and how local ATRs will respond, but it’s certainly something to keep in mind when buying Olympic tickets in the future.

Hotel Pricing/Bundling

Before you price what events you might like to attend in any given Olympics, it would be wise to budget for inflated hotel and flight prices. Based on the number of hotels and regular flight routes to each given host city, prices can fluctuate and inflate drastically leading up to the next Olympic Games.

In general, due to the massive amount of incoming competitors, coaches, family, and general attendees, cities that ultimately win the bid to host an Olympics are popular international destination spots in their own right. Hotel prices are also known to almost double in cities wherever the Olympic games are held. For this reason, a hotel room that is nearest the actual location of Olympic events that would normally cost around $500 a night may be as expensive as $900 a night.

It is also worth considering that there are packages that bundle accommodation with specific Olympic event tickets. Some even include luxury transportation and VIP hospitality passes so that attendees can attend the games in ultimate style. These can start at about $1,200 to $1,700 per person for single events, while larger event bundles generally range from about $4,800 to a topping all-inclusive premium package of around $19,000 per person. 

Olympic Ticket Price Variation

The cost of Olympic tickets varies based on the type of event. For the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the cheapest general tickets were sold for around 2,500 yen (US $23) and up to around 8,000 yen (US $70) for the average event. For more popular events, such as the men’s 100m final in track, tickets were around as high as 130,000 yen (US $1,200).

The most expensive tickets for the Olympics are always the Opening Ceremony and Closing Ceremony. The average ticket for either ceremony at the 2021 Summer Games was upwards of 220,00 yen (US $2,030) per person.

Paris 2024 Draw

For Paris 2024, there will be over a million tickets available for under $25, making this edition of the Olympic Games one of the most accessible in decades. There will also be several multi-sport packages that will be available for under $100. However, you must enter a draw to be eligible to buy tickets, which can be found on the Paris 2024 website.

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