London Diamond League is pricing us out, say families

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: London Diamond League is pricing us out, say familiesImage source, /Getty ImagesImage caption, Keely Hodgkinson (centre) and Georgia Hunter-Bell (left) are among the stars competing at London Diamond League this yearByEwan SomervilleLondonPublished14 minutes agoFamilies and fans have warned they are being priced out from the UK's flagship annual athletics event, the London Diamond League, with tickets costing up to 10 times those in other cities. Many adult tickets in usually cheaper seats are £95 - higher than the other 14 cities in the global televised track-and-field series, analysis suggests. Top British stars including Keely Hodgkinson and Josh Kerr are targeting world records at the event at London Stadium on 18 July, but some fans say tickets are "exorbitant".

Organisers say it is the biggest one-day athletics event in the world, with more than 50,000 tickets sold so far - 14,000 of those costing from £26 for adults and £5 for children. It is the latest controversy linked to the stadium, which was built for the 2012 Olympics and is now used by West Ham United FC. Some football fans say the seats are too far from the action, although London Stadium says it has improved the experience.

The Details

£95 in London, less than £9 when in RomeBBC analysis of tickets for the London Diamond League, also known as the London Athletics Meet, suggests the £26 and £5 tickets are largely at the top of the stadium's upper tier. The back straight and bends are usually cheaper at major track meets because the view of races is regarded as worse than the home straight, where tickets can often run into hundreds of pounds. In the lower tier of London Stadium, all adult tickets we saw were £95 - or £65 with an obstructed view - on the back straight and two bends.

Junior tickets here were almost £50 and students £85. Many of the £95 tickets were still available when we looked - and they are priced higher than the average Premier League ticket of £74 for the six richest clubs. The same zones costing £95 in London are £8.

65 for the Rome Diamond League, £14 in Monaco, £18 in the star-studded US leg of the league in Eugene, Oregon, and £25 to £40 at the Diamond League Final in Brussels in September. Many other Diamond League meetings take place in single-tier stadiums, or with the upper tier blocked off. Other stadiums, such as in Monaco and Rome, are used for football like in London.

What Experts Say

"Athletics is a community sport, not the World Cup," father-of-three John Powell said. "They're alienating a hell of a lot of people who are athletics fans and potential stalwarts within the sport. "Powell, who was awarded an MBE for his youth sprint coaching nurturing GB athletes, said despite London Diamond League often selling out, some people would still be excluded by the "exorbitant" prices.

"You've got to remember what athletics is - on the bends people are going to be 150m in some cases away from the finish line… It's very limited viewing.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.