Budapest hosts the 2023 World Athletics Championships in August, tickets are already selling fast
The 19th World Athletics Championships will be held in Budapest, Hungary, from August 19 to August 27, 2023. This is the first outdoor World Athletics Championships to be held in Central Europe.
Over the nine days of the Championships, nine evening, and five morning sessions will be held at the brand new, purpose-built National Athletics Center. The road races will take place in the World Heritage city center of Budapest on five occasions when spectators will be able to cheer on the athletes in the marathon and the race walking events.
We’re delighted to be going to Central Europe for the outdoor world championships for the first time. Hungary has a very rich sporting history and has shown itself to be an outstanding host of major sports events, including athletics competitions, and Budapest is a stunning city, that will provide the perfect backdrop for the world’s best athletes. The Local Organising Committee hopes to organize the best World Championships ever and I applaud their ambition. We should always try to raise the bar higher at our premier event, just as our athletes do.
- Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics
Tickets for the 2023 World Athletics Championships are selling fast
Tickets are selling fast for the 2023 World Athletics Championships. Organizers reported that only four days after launching the ticketing program, the number of sold tickets reached the 50.000 mark.
Apart from local ticket buyers, visitors from all over the world are securing their place at the competitions. Athletics fans from the UK, USA, and Germany have been quickest with the purchase, but ticket holders already include fans from Chile, Australia, Jamaica, and Qatar.
Fans from Central Europe are buying up tickets quickly too, organizers explain the strong interest with the fact that Budapest 23 will be the first outdoor Athletics WC in the region.
The interest shown by the ticket sales figures for the first four days has far exceeded all previous estimates and the expectations of World Athletics. So many people want to witness the wonder of the World Championships, where everyday heroes can meet the superheroes of athletics and watch live as they break world records and push the limits of man’s physical capacity time and time again.
- Balázs Németh, CEO of Budapest 2023 Zrt.
Prices were set to suit different budgets. Tickets start from USD 7 for morning sessions and USD 16 for evening sessions, while Category 1 tickets for the closest seats to the races on a weekend evening cost around USD 60. Tickets can be purchased online, on Budapest 23's own ticketing portal.
Most popular days of the World Athletics Championships 2023
According to early sales statistics announced by the organizers, the most popular day of the World Athletics Championships 2023 is the day of the men's pole vault final, August 26. Fans are eager to see if Mondo Duplantis, World Male Athlete of the Year, can raise the bar again and break his current world record of 6.21m.
The second day of the World Championships, August 20, is a national holiday in Hungary, usually celebrated in Budapest with various programs throughout the day, and an evening firework. This day, holding the men’s 100m final, seems popular amongst Hungarian and international fans, too.
August 24 will be another highlight when World Female Athlete of the Year Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will compete in the final of the women's 400m hurdles - and can even break her own world record.
Source: World Athletics Championships Budapest 23
Featured image: view of Budapest with the National Athletics Center / via Hungarian Athletics Facebook page
