Tickets to Eurovision Song Contest more expensive than ever before

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Tickets to the Eurovision Song Contest finals to be held in Helsinki in May 2007 will go on sale at 12:00 on Sunday, December 10th.
      The tickets can be purchased from outlets of the nationwide ticket retailer Lippupalvelu's as well as from their telephone service. Any remaining tickets will be sold on the Internet, starting on December 12th.
      The Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE's decision to sell tickets as package deals has already been greeted with annoyance both in Finland and abroad.
      Altogether, there are 70,000 tickets for sale, only half of which will be sold individually. A third of the tickets will in any event be going abroad.
      For the best seats, it is not possible to purchase individual tickets at all, but only as part of a larger package.
     
If one is to experience the May 12th final from a Category One seat, a EUR 390 package deal is needed. This will also get the purchaser to enjoy two semi-final rehearsals, and one final rehearsal.
      A semi-final experience from a good seat will set one back EUR 290. In this package, one semi-final rehearsal and two final rehearsals are thrown in for good measure.
      The event organisers have justified their pricing practice by saying that the cost of Eurovision Song Contest tickets has risen every year. Also, the Helsinki Arena, the home of the 2007 event, is a third smaller than, for instance, the Athens venue from 2006. This reflects on overall revenue and adds pressure to ticket pricing.
     
On Thursday YLE decided to lower the price of tickets to the best seats from the originally announced EUR 425 to EUR 300-420.
      Among the foreign Eurovision Song Contest enthusiasts, the original price had already prompted thoughts of even boycotting the event. The very best places, on the floor of the arena, will be reserved for the most dedicated fans, belonging to clubs like the international network OGAE.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Helsinki Arena to welcome 2007 Eurovision Song Contest (22.6.2006)

Links:
  Eurovision Song Contest Helsinki 2007
  OGAE - Eurovision Fanclub Network
  ESCToday: YLE announces new ticket packages for 2007

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