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Mustafa Ozer / AFP - Getty Images file
Beer for $11 at the Olympics is better than no beer at all, some would argue.
It has become a staple of every major event, and the London Olympics are no different.
While sports spectators are creating lasting memories, they are also usually paying eye-opening prices for beverages. This summer, a beer at the London Olympics will cost $11.10 a pint, while a small serving of London 2012 wine will set you back $7.37, according to a sample menu unveiled by the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The venues will also be offering a sampling of traditional British fare, from fish and chips ($12.29) to porridge ($3.38) to “freshly carved Dingley Dell hog roasted Red Tractor pork, served in Oxfordshire cross hatched bread roll with mixed leaf salad and assorted accompaniments” for $9.98. For those looking for non-alcoholic beverages, a bottle of Coca-Cola will run you $3.53 while a bottle of water will cost $2.46.
The announcement of the beer prices caused some grumbling online ("Just to add to the indignity," pointed out the New York Times, "the only beer sold at the events will be a Heineken, a Dutch beer"), but organizers claim that they are no more exorbitant than they are at other major events. London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton told The Telegraph of London that organizers have “gone to great lengths’’ to find “high quality, tasty food that celebrates the best of Britain,’’ and that the prices were “more than comparable’’ to the costs at other major sporting events.
More than 14 million meals will be served during the games across 40 locations, with more than 800 spectator concessions featuring 150 different dishes, according to the LOCOG. The focus was on a family of four being able to afford a meal for under $61.
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Leave a Comment:
Didn't think anyone could be worst than the NFL for prices...
But thats highway robbery...lol
BYOBeer
I agree, highway robbery! It's absolutely ridiculous to charge such exorbitant prices ANYWHERE!!!!! I, myself, have not and will not EVER pay such prices...If for one game, whatever it may be, not one person purchased a single item, they may understand the ridiculousnes of it all....jus' sayin'!
I would feel kinda sissy eeting Porridge... but my MacBookPro dictionary says Porridge is oatmeal. Mehhh... I want bacon -n- eggs...
I gree it is high time to BYOBeer.
I wouldnt pay $11 if they flew me to London,let me watch the games,drink the beer and fly me home.
i 'd give 11 bucks for a dime bag...if it helped the olympics...the high jump is...my favorite event...
They either don't want you to drink to much or they don't even want normal income people to show up. Most likely fifty percent of the tickets, meals and drinks will likely be paid for by tax or company dollars.
For those complaining about $11 for English beer at the Summer Olympics, which happen once every four years, I wonder how many have actually bought a beer at an American sports venue. I also wonder how many have actually HAD English beer. For those that haven't, it'll take half as much to have twice the effect as an American beer and will taste a whole lot better.
Dutch beer (as stated in the article).....and lets be real, if you consider Heineken to be worth it for the taste and effect, you should broaded your horizons
Beer will be so cheap because the Olympics is "the people's games."
Gee Craig we must be reading different articles.....nowhwere in it does it say what beer
"The announcement of the beer prices caused some grumbling online ("Just to add to the indignity," pointed out the New York Times, "the only beer sold at the events will be a Heineken, a Dutch beer")"
From above article
It's too bad the Olympics aren't somewhere else in Europe. With the way the US Dollar has been crushing the Euro, beer would about a buck by the time the Olympics start.
It will probably be as pathetic as the rest of the English food and diet...
Just out of curosity what is wrong with the English food and diet??
It's not fattening enough.
Oh! Here's a novel idea. Don't go to the f***ing Olympics.
Isnt that wonderful ,im glad i dont have the money to go ,I can sit on the coach with a 12 pack for that.what a ripoff
You are going to sit on the "coach?" Wow! Which coach, which team, and why do you want to sit on him/her?
hahahahahahaha!!!!! I guess he's already started sipping on that 12 pack. Coach, ya gotta love it. Best laugh all day. I take that back - I was reading some Calvin & Hobbes earlier. (why should the kids have all the fun?)
People, we just had a soccer game at the new Cowboy Stadium with 84,000 people.
If they sold one (1) beer to half the people (40,000) at $ 9.00 a beer, that is a cool,
$ 360,000.000
Not a bad days work Mr. Jones.
And here is one more reason I was so relieved that New York's bid for the Olympics was rejected. It's a big maketing and real estate racket. The only one going for the gold are the people run this shindig. Stay home do yourself a favor. If you must go to Shop Rite and by some Bass, Fosters or Guiness.
If you can afford to go to the Olympics, 11 bucks for a beer is of no concern.
Exactly Timber, case closed. Lets see, I'll have 2 pints and some of that carved pork on a Oxfordshire roll with all the accompaniments please. Better make that a double order. Hope you brought your visa card?
No different than going to see a movie here in the US... Last weekend.. 2 medium pops and 1 popcorn... $21!!!!!
Agreed. We paid $14.50 each for the tickets or $29.00. Then we got 1 large popcorn, 1 giant soda, 1 nachos...came to $26.00! So, $55.00 dollars! Next time we're going is in December for the Hobbit. We have to save all our change just to pay for it and then you don't even get dinner!
Soooo true! a family cannot afford to go to the movies without breaking the bank! You actally have to save up! how ridiculous is that! $6 popcorn! lol
....organizers have “gone to great lengths’’ to find “high quality, tasty food that celebrates the best of Britain,’’....
Well, that's an understatement. Can't imagine you finding ANY "high quality, tasty food". No matter what lengths you go to.
Hey, maybe at the next Olympic games I can set up a beer stand and charge 2.50$ a beer and still become a multi millionaire. Hell, $11.00 for a beer? why not, we're only in a global recession, who's gonna notice?? oh, the POOR people like me will NOTICE!! Get a grip and a clue...LOWER your PRICES so us poor people can enjoy a beer as well. Your gonna price yourself clear outta business. If you cut your price in half, you'll make MORE money on volume, because instead of just buying 1 beer, people will buy two at that cost, and then a third and a forth. With two beers some people don't THINK that clear, so they are willing to open their wallet a little further and buy a third and fourth beer. Taking marketing classes helps a great deal, you might try it.
With the cost of the tickets at the events, if an $11 beer puts you off, you wouldn't be there in the first place.
Somebody has to pay for the cost of hosting the Olympic beside the England taxpayers! I think that it is a fair price!!!
Yes but can people get more than 16oz. of soda????
i guess it's a good thing bloomberg isn't the mayor of London
Are these figures in US Dollars? I would think that because the Olympics are being held in London, the refreshments would be sold in British Pounds. Was it converted to USD simply for this article? If so, obviously a weak dollar will cause items bought in england to be more expensive for American customers.
Let's face it, folks. Beer isn't vital to health. Those who go to the Olympics and would like to drink a beer can always go to a pub after the day's events. If people can afford to pay $11 for a beer, they shouldn't complain about the price. If they can't afford it, they can easily live without it.
It's just another way to screw the public, it will be the same cost to the people in London.
It's a show for the big wigs,if you are not rich do not go
i do not and will not buy beer, soda, food, or candy at sporting events or the movies (then again I don't go to the movies). BYO.
What a bunch of greedy blots. Hope they all get the scurvy
If I'm going to pay $11 for a beer, I want to see a pair of tits and get a lapdance, then see her smoke a cigarette with a vertical smile.
HAHAHAHAHA!!! Awesome!! Best comment!!
Just get primed up before the events, there are plenty of pubs around with better beer.
If everyone would not buy it, you would see the price plummet!
If everyone would not buy it, it wouldn't matter because no one is buying it!
Not surprising. Beers at an Anaheim Angels game is $9 for 12 oz. They article says $11 for a pint, but that is probably a British 20 ounce pint, not a crappy American 16 ounce pint. Oh, and London is a very expensive city. It looks like water is actually cheaper than in Disneyland.
No surprise here.
The #1 WORST beer in the world. NONE worse! And, all those wonderful English Ales.
We used to buy a pint of light at the pub in Lakenheath Village near RAF Lakenheath for about 25 cents in 1966. 7-8 of those, then fish and chips down the street for about $1.25 (2 big pieces of cod and chips). After that (about 11:15-11:30) off to an empty haystack with an English Cutie or perhaps she had a small flat in the village. Back to base about 2:30 AM for a nap then work. What a great life!
The Killing Zone,
Since the days of the Roman Coliseum vendors have known that the audience is captive and the confines of the stadium are a fair game 'killing zone' to charge whatever the market will bear. I now refrain from attending any baseball or football games because of the blatant gouging which really took the fun out of the entire experience.
Peace to all