 Wednesday, April 25, 2012
With UEFA reporting that 93% of all tickets for Euro 2012 have been sold, it appears that the ticket sales for the upcoming European championships have been a relative 'success'. However, does 'almost sold out' tell the true story about the demand for Euro 2012? And is there likely to be a black market for tickets in Poland and Ukraine? UEFA claims that it has already received more than 12 million applications for the 1.4 million tickets available - the highest demand to date for any European Championships. Many Poles and Ukrainians are not happy. Citizens of the two host nations accounted for 88% of the demand for tickets, so you don't need to be a mathematical genius to calculate that the majority of Poles and Ukrainians who applied for tickets to watch the tournament in their home countries, have been unsuccessful in their applications. At previous tournaments some of the largest demand has come from the United Kingdom and Ireland. However, England have struggled to shift tickets to their members and for the first time in decades much of England's allocation remains unsold. The highest demand from abroad has come from Germany, Russia and - most surprisingly of all - from Switzerland. Reports from Germany suggest that around 20,000 Germans are expected to travel to the tournament, with thousands more only put off by horror stories in the German press about price gouging in Ukraine. And what about Switzerland? Do its fans realise they didn't qualify for Euro 2012? How is it possible that more Swiss football fans want to travel to Euro 2012 than those from traditionally well-supported nations such as Sweden, Ireland, Denmark and England? Answers on a postcard please. Will there be a black market in Poland and Ukraine? MTAG expects there to be plenty of empty seats for a number of the group matches, especially in Ukraine. It will be the usual case of fans buying tickets months in advance and subsequently being unable to travel. Also expect hundreds, if not thousands, of corporate ticket holders to be 'no shows', especially in eastern Ukraine. Those that travel without tickets, and are patient, shouldn't have much problem picking up face value tickets from fellow fans. The only exceptions to this, as we see it, will likely be one or two of the high profile matches and games involving Germany, Poland, Ukraine and perhaps Ireland. We predict it could likely be difficult to get in to Germany v Holland, Poland v Russia and Ireland v Italy. Once we reach the quarters it is our experience of previous tournaments that it becomes much easier to pick up tickets for matches as many football fans book up their foreign holidays for the games their team is certain to play in the first round and often leave just as the quarter finals begin. MTAG expects a considerable number of ticketless fans to travel to Poland but doubts this will be the case with Ukraine, except for the matches played in Lviv, in western Ukraine. After all, how many fans are going to go to all the expense of buying pricey flights and hotels in Ukraine and turn up without tickets? We doubt it will be many. It is only the price discrepancy between 'category 3' tickets and 'cat 1 & 2s' that will lead to a general black market in tickets. With cat 3 tickets available for as little as 30 euro, you can expect some people who hold tickets to be happy to make a little cash for themselves. We don't suppose a visiting fan from Germany or Holland will be too unhappy about paying 100 euro for a 30 euro ticket if it costs a similar price for a category 2 match ticket for the same match. In conclusion, we expect Euro 2012 to be declared 'SOLD OUT' shortly before the tournament begins, but predict there will be plenty of empty seats at the majority of the matches played in Poland and Ukraine.
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Thursday, April 5, 2012
Any fans who have so far missed out on tickets for Euro 2012, have until Tuesday April 10 to purchase tickets that have gone on resale. The extra Euro tickets are available from fans who have returned their unwanted tickets through the UEFA ticket resale platform. If you want to try and pick up last minute tickets for Poland and Ukraine then click on this link. But remember you have less than a week until the final purchasing deadline!  Two ticketless Australian fans celebrate 'magically' acquiring tickets for their match against Germany at FIFA 2010 in South AfricaMonday, March 19, 2012 Received an email from UEFA over the weekend informing me that I have tickets for all of England's matches at Euro 2012. It seems that every England fan who applied for tickets through the England Members club has been successful with their applications. With the exception of England v Ukraine (category two - 70 euro), I decided to apply for category 3 tickets for all of the matches that will or might involve the English national team. The thinking behind this was that there is such a huge price discrepancy between category 'threes' and 'twos' for matches in Poland and Ukraine that I couldn't really justify (or afford) to buy category two tickets anyway. You certainly can't complain, in this day and age, about paying 30 euro to watch England v France in the European Championships. In the highly unlikely event of England getting to the final in Kyiv on July 1st, I will be guaranteed a final ticket for just 50 euro. Had I stated that I was willing to accept category two tickets for the final, I would need to pay 330 euro for the pleasure, and 500 euro for category one. Thankfully, I was wise enough this time to know if I told UEFA I was willing to accept a higher price category that was what they'd give me. You live and learn. Meanwhile, I have also received the good news that I have media accreditation for Ukraine. So, hopefully, I will also get the opportunity to attend some matches in Lvov involving Denmark, Germany and Portugal. Certainly, those of you who follow More Than a Game can now expect full coverage of this summer's tournament from on the ground in Ukraine....time to start getting the guide books out and start putting together an itinerary... |
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