European Athletics Championships: Criticism as thousands of empty seats in Birmingham

Nearly 10,000 seats were empty at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium for the European Athletics Championships on Monday evening. A crowd of 13,623 watched as Britain's 24-year-old sprinter Amy Hunt stormed to her first senior international title, in a stadium that has a capacity of 23,000. Athletics supporters blamed ticket prices, with some describing them as "extortionate", while BBC commentator Steve Cram commented that spectator numbers were a "little disappointing". But Birmingham 2026 organisers said they were "delighted" with ticket sales, which have "far surpassed" their targets with "Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening sessions approaching sell-out, with several other sessions close to capacity". On Monday, Category A tickets for the home straight cost £150 with no concessions for juniors. For the men's 100m final on Tuesday, those same seats cost £110, again with no concessions - while a similar ticket for the same final in Rome two years ago was 88 euros (£75). It is Britain's first time hosting the championships in their 92-year history. The Alexander Stadium was 55% full on Monday morning, 59% full by the evening and 56% full on Tuesday morning, according to figures from t