Is it worth spending £725 to see the men’s 100m Olympic final?

My view would be no – and I speak from experience.  I was at the the Olympic Stadium in Seoul in 1988 and watched the Olympic 100m final. A race whose images are indelibly etched on the memories of all who watched it. The race was won by Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, who was then famously stripped of his title after testing positive for steroids. I was fairly close to the action, but with everyone standing and cheering the view was fairly limited.

On your marks…set…BANG….cheer…finish.   It was all over in a flash – well 9.79 seconds to be exact., although the shockwaves from that event have lasted considerably longer.  

All that said however, I do think it’s worth taking a punt on a £50 ticket. Just to be able to say you were there to see the fastest men on the planet – like I did in 1988.  The atmosphere will be electric. But is the £725 price tag to watch eight men in the distance run for just over nine seconds a little too steep? There are better ways to spend your Olympic budget…and other Olympic events to watch.

As a member of the Great Britain Team in Seoul in 1988, I was extremely lucky to see a number of events, and I have to say that the opportunity to see some of the less high profile sports was brilliant. My favourite was definitely the hockey. I was lucky enough to witness the Great Britain Hockey team  made up of doctors, bank clerks, newsagents, teachers and even a trainee hairdresser beat West Germany 3-1 to take the Olympic gold medal.

Ticket prices are a hot topic, with many saying ordinary people are being priced out. I disagree. Everyone has a chance to get tickets and there are plenty priced at the lower end – with children only having to pay their age – ie a £1 for a year. It may be that the chances of getting tickets to the “Blue Riband” events are limited but there are so many great events to see. I encourage everyone to get involved and allocate some of their hard earned cash towards joining the Olympic experience. As a sports fan I think it is a fabulous honour to have the Olympics on our doorstep and a once in a lifetime opportunity for most people to be part of it.

It’s important not to get carried away though, because if you try the scatterbomb approach to increase your odds at getting tickets and you turn out to be lucky, you could be facing a rather hefty VISA bill in June or July when the payments for allocated tickets get taken.

The important factor is “value for money” and only you can determine if it is.

Joanne Jones is marketing manager at Proposito and was a member of Great Britain’s swimming squad at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.