Who's been to the Olympic Games?
Jul 4th, 2003, 06:38 AM
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Who's been to the Olympic Games?
It's been announced that Vancouver BC will host the 2010 Winter Games. I went to the Utah board and thankfully, there are still messages from the Salt Lake City Games. So I got some good ideas but specifically:
1. Getting tickets-it seems like you go to the Olympics web site about 18 months before the Games and request tickets. So, is it like a crap shoot on what you'll get? What if your a die hard hockey fan, you don't want ice dancing and bobsled tickets. Plus I want to go to Opening ceremonies soooo bad. Is it the rich and famous who get those tickets or can Joe Average get into Opening ceremonies? If I could get Opening ceremonies, some ski qualies and a hockey early round match, that would be more than fine with me.
2. Getting to the venues-the ice events will be in Vancouver and the ski/bobsled, snowboard events will be in Whistler. Do they have shuttles to get to the venues or is it best to know the local transit system?
If any Olympic veterans have any more info or insight they could offer I would be very thankful. I'm posting this on the British Columbia board also.
1. Getting tickets-it seems like you go to the Olympics web site about 18 months before the Games and request tickets. So, is it like a crap shoot on what you'll get? What if your a die hard hockey fan, you don't want ice dancing and bobsled tickets. Plus I want to go to Opening ceremonies soooo bad. Is it the rich and famous who get those tickets or can Joe Average get into Opening ceremonies? If I could get Opening ceremonies, some ski qualies and a hockey early round match, that would be more than fine with me.
2. Getting to the venues-the ice events will be in Vancouver and the ski/bobsled, snowboard events will be in Whistler. Do they have shuttles to get to the venues or is it best to know the local transit system?
If any Olympic veterans have any more info or insight they could offer I would be very thankful. I'm posting this on the British Columbia board also.
Jul 4th, 2003, 06:57 AM
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First off, you've got seven years to prepare your strategy. The Canadian Olympic Committeee won't even have a detailed ticket policy in place for a long while yet.
You can see any event you wish at most any Olympics. I've all of the marquee events at the past 3 summer Olympics which I wanted to see, and I've never purchesed tickets in advance. I simply go prepared to get the 'scalp' tickets I want.
Winter Olympics are much smaller and should be somewhat easier to deal with.
You cannot guarantee yourself tickets in advance to any of the events (though sometimes they sell Opening Ceremonies separately...depends on the country which is hosting).
At most Olympics if you want tickets in advance they go on sale 12-18 months prior, and you may request certain events, but there's no assurance you'll get what you want.
Plus, they have historically forced you to buy undesirable tickets along with desirable ones in pairs or trios as a means of selling tickets they'd otherwise not be able to get rid of.
For Summer Olympics they usually have special transit set up, both for security reasons (can't even get close to event areas without a valid event ticket), and to minimize congestion.
They won't be announcing any details about this for a long time to come.
You can see any event you wish at most any Olympics. I've all of the marquee events at the past 3 summer Olympics which I wanted to see, and I've never purchesed tickets in advance. I simply go prepared to get the 'scalp' tickets I want.
Winter Olympics are much smaller and should be somewhat easier to deal with.
You cannot guarantee yourself tickets in advance to any of the events (though sometimes they sell Opening Ceremonies separately...depends on the country which is hosting).
At most Olympics if you want tickets in advance they go on sale 12-18 months prior, and you may request certain events, but there's no assurance you'll get what you want.
Plus, they have historically forced you to buy undesirable tickets along with desirable ones in pairs or trios as a means of selling tickets they'd otherwise not be able to get rid of.
For Summer Olympics they usually have special transit set up, both for security reasons (can't even get close to event areas without a valid event ticket), and to minimize congestion.
They won't be announcing any details about this for a long time to come.
Jul 4th, 2003, 06:58 AM
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Ooops forgot something.
Cost-I live nearby, I can take Greyhound to Vancouver. So taking into account tickets, hotel, food, "mad money", how much do these things cost, ballpark figure? I plan on 2 maybe 3 nights.
I want an idea on how much to start saving. For something this big, no time like the present to start planning.
Cost-I live nearby, I can take Greyhound to Vancouver. So taking into account tickets, hotel, food, "mad money", how much do these things cost, ballpark figure? I plan on 2 maybe 3 nights.
I want an idea on how much to start saving. For something this big, no time like the present to start planning.
Jul 4th, 2003, 11:43 AM
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Some countries (like Greece for the 2004 Summer Olympics) absolutely victimize Olympic-goers by raising hotel rates by factors of 5X-10X in some cases. It appears small rooms in Athens will be going for as much as $800 per night next year.
Other countries, like the US, make an attempt to cap the abuse. In Atlanta in 1996 hotel rates were about 2X-3X normal if you were vigilant in looking around. Sydney was a bit worse than Atlanta and Barcelona about the same as Sydney.
City size has a lot to do with it. Vancouver will have no problem supplying adequate lodging and I'll bet Canada's Oly Committee will prevent significant consumer abuse.
You should be able to find decent lodging for 2X-3X normal rates.
Be aware that virtually all the good lodging will be reserved for officials and special groups and sponsors and will not be available to regular attendees. You won't find a nice clean Courtyard by Marriott 800 meters from the main stadium, for instance.
Food prices don't change much.
Trinkets and apparel are pretty expensive. T-shirts are usually around $35-40USD.
Attendance at Summer Games has been about 7 times larger than winter Olympic games the past 2 go rounds. Sydney drew about 4.5 million people and the SLC Winter Games drew about 700,000 people.
By comparison, Olympic Park in Sydney by itself drew almost 600,000 people on its best single day during the 2000 games.
The point is, the Winter Games are much more personal and less of a hassle. The bigger the city, the easier it is to find decent lodging and the less turmoil the Games create for locals. Vancouver should be able to host these games with little trouble.
Other countries, like the US, make an attempt to cap the abuse. In Atlanta in 1996 hotel rates were about 2X-3X normal if you were vigilant in looking around. Sydney was a bit worse than Atlanta and Barcelona about the same as Sydney.
City size has a lot to do with it. Vancouver will have no problem supplying adequate lodging and I'll bet Canada's Oly Committee will prevent significant consumer abuse.
You should be able to find decent lodging for 2X-3X normal rates.
Be aware that virtually all the good lodging will be reserved for officials and special groups and sponsors and will not be available to regular attendees. You won't find a nice clean Courtyard by Marriott 800 meters from the main stadium, for instance.
Food prices don't change much.
Trinkets and apparel are pretty expensive. T-shirts are usually around $35-40USD.
Attendance at Summer Games has been about 7 times larger than winter Olympic games the past 2 go rounds. Sydney drew about 4.5 million people and the SLC Winter Games drew about 700,000 people.
By comparison, Olympic Park in Sydney by itself drew almost 600,000 people on its best single day during the 2000 games.
The point is, the Winter Games are much more personal and less of a hassle. The bigger the city, the easier it is to find decent lodging and the less turmoil the Games create for locals. Vancouver should be able to host these games with little trouble.
Jul 4th, 2003, 12:43 PM
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Thanks for the advance info TedTurner.
I got some good ideas, now it's the long, slow planning stage. That's good that the Winter Games are much smaller than the Summer Games.
I'm sure that my area will have shuttles going up non-stop, and Vancouver will put on a great show.
I got some good ideas, now it's the long, slow planning stage. That's good that the Winter Games are much smaller than the Summer Games.
I'm sure that my area will have shuttles going up non-stop, and Vancouver will put on a great show.
Jul 4th, 2003, 01:58 PM
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I went to the Atlanta games, it was an awesome experience. Had s sort of lottery type of ticket affair. You did not know which venue you would get till they decided for you, But we did get a majority of our venues we wanted, no gymnastics however. I never loved Atlanta more than when it hosted the Olympics....the atomosphere was outstanding, and we would go downtown just to be a part of it. Wished downtown could have stayed so lively ;-) Judy
Jul 5th, 2003, 09:32 AM
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Our family didn't decide until the last minute (2 weeks ahead) to go to the SLC Olympics. We only stayed for 2 days, but it would have been great to stay for the whole thing. It was a great experience, and I'm glad our kids got to be there.
We bought tickets from the official website about 2 weeks before the events. Hockey tickets were available to the very end. We ended up seeing ski jumping ($50 apiece because we were in great seats), and the men's biathlon relay, about ($12 to stand along the course).
We spent $250 per night at an Econolodge in Provo, if that gives you a feel for prices. I'm guessing that this motel would usually have cost in the $80 or less range. Provo is an hour from SLC, but somewhat convenient to a couple of venues. I'm sure we could have gotten a better deal if we had planned ahead. The website had a list of people renting out rooms, as well as entire homes.
You'll want to figure out which events you'll likely attend, then choose lodging nearby.
We bought tickets from the official website about 2 weeks before the events. Hockey tickets were available to the very end. We ended up seeing ski jumping ($50 apiece because we were in great seats), and the men's biathlon relay, about ($12 to stand along the course).
We spent $250 per night at an Econolodge in Provo, if that gives you a feel for prices. I'm guessing that this motel would usually have cost in the $80 or less range. Provo is an hour from SLC, but somewhat convenient to a couple of venues. I'm sure we could have gotten a better deal if we had planned ahead. The website had a list of people renting out rooms, as well as entire homes.
You'll want to figure out which events you'll likely attend, then choose lodging nearby.
Jul 5th, 2003, 11:16 AM
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I live in Salt Lake and loved the Winter Olympics. I definitely have the bug to attend another Olympics - perhaps summer next time. With the Salt Lake Olympics, to get the opening ceremonies tickets, you had to buy a package of tickets to various events. It was costly but worth it. I wasn't thrilled about seeing short track speed skating (knew nothing about it) but was there the night Apollo won his gold and it was fantastic.
Jul 7th, 2003, 08:47 AM
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Dear Travel,
My experience as a Park City, UT resident for the 2002 Winter Games.
Ordering tickets on line as soon as they were available was difficult because the Olympic site couldn't handle the demand and I kept getting booted off. Waited a few days and read through the whole thing!
You did have to buy advance "packages" in order to get opening/closing ceremonies tickets. These packages were expensive ($1,000+) and included some high demand events and some low demand events (such as x country skiing). Nevermind - go to some of everything - it's a wonderful education. Everyone who went to x country skiing loved it, inlcuding me! One of the most beautiful venues of all.
If you only want specific events, you can order invidual tickets for those. Each organizing committee may have different rules, but for SLC, you could order a max of 4 for each event. You had to pay for the most expensive ticket, be charged for it at the time of order, then wait 6 or more months to find out what you got. No guarantee of getting anything at all. After you received your tickets,you had to request a refund for what you didn't get! They fill the ticket orders first come first served.
My experience was: I asked for 2 tickets each to Mens Downhill, Womens Downhill, Mens Slalom, Mens Aerials. I got 2 tickets to Womens Downhill and 2 tickets to Mens Slalom. All were $95 each and were grandstand seats. I would not have wanted to be standing for 6 - 8 hours in the snow!
OK - one month prior to the Olympics, 2 friends finally decided to come up. At that point, they ordered tickets on line for whatever they could get. They got women's bobsleigh (cool since the women won gold!), skeleton, Ice dancing finals (partically obstructed view $125 each), hockey.
We had a great time. Lodging wasn't an issue for us since I live right there. The good news was predicted traffic nightmares never happened in SLC.
Vancouver will have a longer commute between city and alpine events. SLC had a limited number of shuttle buses that had to be reserved in advance. Rental car rates were a rip off, but you have to expect that.
Find out the web site and check it regularly for info. I'm sure Vancouver will do a great job and will learn from SLC's success.
My experience as a Park City, UT resident for the 2002 Winter Games.
Ordering tickets on line as soon as they were available was difficult because the Olympic site couldn't handle the demand and I kept getting booted off. Waited a few days and read through the whole thing!
You did have to buy advance "packages" in order to get opening/closing ceremonies tickets. These packages were expensive ($1,000+) and included some high demand events and some low demand events (such as x country skiing). Nevermind - go to some of everything - it's a wonderful education. Everyone who went to x country skiing loved it, inlcuding me! One of the most beautiful venues of all.
If you only want specific events, you can order invidual tickets for those. Each organizing committee may have different rules, but for SLC, you could order a max of 4 for each event. You had to pay for the most expensive ticket, be charged for it at the time of order, then wait 6 or more months to find out what you got. No guarantee of getting anything at all. After you received your tickets,you had to request a refund for what you didn't get! They fill the ticket orders first come first served.
My experience was: I asked for 2 tickets each to Mens Downhill, Womens Downhill, Mens Slalom, Mens Aerials. I got 2 tickets to Womens Downhill and 2 tickets to Mens Slalom. All were $95 each and were grandstand seats. I would not have wanted to be standing for 6 - 8 hours in the snow!
OK - one month prior to the Olympics, 2 friends finally decided to come up. At that point, they ordered tickets on line for whatever they could get. They got women's bobsleigh (cool since the women won gold!), skeleton, Ice dancing finals (partically obstructed view $125 each), hockey.
We had a great time. Lodging wasn't an issue for us since I live right there. The good news was predicted traffic nightmares never happened in SLC.
Vancouver will have a longer commute between city and alpine events. SLC had a limited number of shuttle buses that had to be reserved in advance. Rental car rates were a rip off, but you have to expect that.
Find out the web site and check it regularly for info. I'm sure Vancouver will do a great job and will learn from SLC's success.
Jul 7th, 2003, 09:22 AM
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"Official" US ticket outlets...
www.cartan.com
www.cosport.com
Unofficial ticket brokers
www.ticketcity.com
www.encoretickets.com
General info
www.olympic-usa.org
www.cartan.com
www.cosport.com
Unofficial ticket brokers
www.ticketcity.com
www.encoretickets.com
General info
www.olympic-usa.org
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