Olympics: A costly package

If you want to get in early for tickets to next year's Sydney Olympics you are going to have to buy a package deal.

Tickets for the September 16 to October 1 sporting extravaganza went on sale yesterday and between now and February, New Zealanders wanting to attend the Games will also have to pay for a flight or both the flight and accommodation as part of the deal. After February, tickets can be bought individually.

The tickets are available from three travel agencies - Gullivers Travel, Passport Travel and Air New Zealand.

But New Zealanders needn't worry that tickets will sell out inside the next nine months, according to Malcolm Beattie, New Zealand and Australian managing director of SportsWorld Travel, which is the New Zealand Olympic Committee's ticket distributor.

"But we work on the basis that people are going to have to fly to Sydney so why wouldn't they come in and purchase a ticket now?" said Beattie.

He believed New Zealand had done well out of their ticket allocation from games organiser SOCOG. It was well up on the number they received for Atlanta in 1996.

Beattie said it was hard to put an exact number on how many tickets New Zealand had been allocated because of a multi-category purchasing system imposed by SOCOG in an attempt to see less popular sports well attended.

For example, to buy a category one ticket to a swimming finals session a customer may also have to buy a couple of category two tickets to Greco-Roman wrestling at a far lower cost.

"We realise a lot of people may effectively throw those away," Beattie said. "But that's not our rules, it's SOCOG rules and it's been the same with most previous Olympics."

Beattie said it would be difficult for New Zealanders to get Australians to order tickets on their behalf from across the Tasman. Australians will have to prove that they are living in the household when they apply for the ticket ballot, starting from next month.

Beattie said Kiwis who got in to travel agents early could get what they wanted. He was initially concerned SOCOG would supply fewer tickets than the NZOC requested because of a worldwide over-subscription.

"There was that worry but New Zealand has done very well," he said. "There was always going to be a lot of pressure on key sports like swimming because they've only got about 19,500 tickets available per session and I understand SOCOG have had something like 54,000 applications per session. Ceremonies and gymnastics are the same."

While happy with the number of tickets New Zealand had been allocated to the opening and closing ceremonies, Beattie was disappointed to only be given the expensive A-grade options. Those premier seats will cost $A1382 ($1663) each.

Ticket costs for each sport from the cheapest B-grade preliminary ticket to the most expensive A-grade final ticket (all in Australian dollars):

Aquatics (including swimming) $35-$455, archery $19-$65, athletics $35-$165, badminton $40-$75, baseball $19-$105, basketball $45-$455, boxing $45-$355, canoeing $30-$90, cycling $65-$105, equestrian $45-$205, fencing $45-$65, gymnastics $85-$445, handball $19-$85, hockey $45-$130, judo $45-$80, modern pentathlon $40-$65, rowing $30-$80, shooting $50, soccer $19-$355, softball $19-$65, taekwando $45-$80, table tennis $45-$85, tennis $55-$205, triathlon $65, volleyball $19-$205, weightlifting $65-$205, wrestling $35-$85. Yachting to be determined. Opening and closing ceremonies $105-$1382. - NZPA