Empty seats at Birmingham stadium spark criticism over ticket prices

Nearly 10,000 seats were empty at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium on Monday evening as Amy Hunt won the women's 100m final in front of 13,623 spectators. The near half-empty stands quickly turned attention from the result on the track to the cost of getting through the gate.

BBC Sport's Greg Rutherford and Jessica Ennis-Hill discussed the empty seats during coverage of the meet, while UK Athletics chief executive Jack Buckner had called the championships "absolutely massive" for Birmingham. British Athletics said the European Athletics Championships were being held in Great Britain for the first time, and the meet runs at Alexander Stadium from 10-16 August 2026.

European Athletics had marketed the Birmingham event as broad-based and accessible, saying more than 250,000 tickets were available and describing them as "Affordable for all." The empty sections in the stadium suggested that the sales pitch had not carried the same weight with every fan, especially as criticism later hardened around what some described as punishing match-day costs.

That criticism focused on ticket prices reaching as much as £150 for top seats, alongside the sort of added charges that can turn a night out into a calculation. Reports cited an £18.50 pork roll and a £22.50 park-and-ride fee, and some said cars were banned at the stadium. Steve Cram and Amy Hunt's agent were among those who pushed back on what they described as crazy or shocking pricing.

Birmingham City Council and Birmingham 2026 organisers had previously said additional seating was being added at Alexander Stadium because of "unprecedented demand." Monday's attendance made the contrast hard to miss: a championship sold as a major home-soil moment for the city opened with large pockets of empty red seats, even as Hunt delivered one of the meeting's headline performances.