The Olympics and what it cost me

Now the Olympics are over I thought I would reflect on how much it cost me personally.

I was lucky enough to get tickets for the Final of the men’s football and the final day of the boxing which included seeing Anthony Joshua winning the Super-Heavyweight Gold medal.

   

It's been a memorable 2 weeks for everyone involved and thousands of people have been able to enjoy some unforgettable moments in British sporting history. I am sure many people spent a lot more than I did on seeing these moments live but this is an account of how much it cost me, the average Joe.

Broken Down Costs

First of all there is the price of the tickets themselves. My ticket for the Men’s Football Final cost me £95 and the Boxing ticket cost me £125. Total for tickets = £220

Then you have the price of my train tickets to get to the venues. An all day travel card from my local station costs £20.50 therefore for the 2 days my travel costs = £41

Obviously for a full day out you are going to need food. On both trips I had breakfast at the cafe next to my local train station. Full English and a cup of tea x2 = £10

Any sporting day out for me always includes plenty of refreshments in the form of Lager, it’s a day out after all, and you might as well enjoy yourself. Two cans for trip up on both occasions = £5

I had heard rumours of extortionate prices for refreshments at the venues themselves so I made sure I had some lunch before entering the stadiums. A decent pub lunch in London will set you back at least £10 these days (including pint) = £20

Couple of beers on each occasion = £14

Then onto the venues, there were plenty of things to purchase from flags to t-shirts however not being one for memorabilia I avoided these. The Olympic village only take Visa and even though I did have my Vanquis Credit Card on me I didn’t want to use it on things that I would ultimately regret once all the hype had calmed down. 

The football which saw Mexico beat Brazil was obviously only a couple of hours long so I avoided eating in the stadium and just had another beer (£4). The boxing however was a lot longer so I had to purchase a hotdog and a couple of beers while I was there. All in all the total expenditure whilst at the venues themselves came to about £20.

Once out of the venues it was time to hit the pubs again especially after the boxing as all the British people were celebrating Anthony Joshua winning the Gold medal which in the end was Team GB’s last. It was a fantastic atmosphere, everyone was singing and cheering. I have never seen anything like it. Neither had my wallet mind you, I must of spent at least £100 after the boxing alone. I loved the party so much that I missed the last train home and ended up staying in a Premier Inn to the tune of £105. Because of this I had to buy another Travel Card to get home the next day costing me another £20.50. 

So, it’s time to find out how much my Olympic exploits cost me in total. Adding everything up I arrive at a conservative £560. Which isn’t bad considering the events that I was lucky enough to see live.

Even though for the next few months I am going to be paying off my credit card bill those two days will last with me forever. Sometimes you just have to forget about the cost because some things are a once in a life time opportunity. Just for the record I wouldn't advise everyone to do the same. Make sure you are able to pay off what you borrow!