Features > Getaways > With Glowing Hearts: The 2010 Winter Olympics
When I was a little girl I always looked forward to the winter Olympics. I remember watching the figure skating and dancing around my living room pretending that I was on the ice in my sparkling leotard with roses being thrown to me. I remember that I would be twirling and twirling until I toppled onto the carpet laughing while I waited for the room to stop spinning. Well, I'm a big girl now but I still look forward to watching the Olympics, especially the figure skating. I guess some things never change. You may even catch me doing the same thing today but I'll never admit to it.
In just a year from now the Winter Olympics will have made their way to Vancouver and it's time to start considering if it's a trip I want to take. The ticketing process is a bit confusing though. After doing some snooping on the official Vancouver 2010 website it turns out that I can't actually buy my tickets from them since I don't live in Canada. If you live in the United States, like I do, tickets must be purchased from CoSport, who is an official ticket agent for the 2010 Winter games. To find out who the ticket agent for your country is take a look at the VANOC Official Agent List and find the ticket seller that caters to where you live.
Live ticket sales for the Olympic events go on sale in late spring, around 330 days before the Olympics commence. They are being sold first-come first-served so it's important to get your tickets right away. Once the live sales commence tickets can be purchased directly on the CoSport website with immediate confirmation and payment processing.
When you go to buy your tickets you may notice that there are 4 price categories. A, B, C, and D. A tickets being the highest price, and D the lowest. The different categories determine the quality of your seating at the events. A tickets are obviously the best, and D, well, obviously the seats may leave something to be desired but hey, it's the Olympics! At least you'll be there!
Now obviously the Olympics aren't going to be super cheap and the difference in seating obviously makes a huge difference so a trip to the Olympics is definite a trip that is going to require a little bit of saving and planning. For example, for a category A ticket to the Ice Dance Original Dance Figure Skating event the ticket cost is $450, but a category D ticket is only $50. Wow, talk about a difference in pricing. I definitely see myself trying to find some middle ground. I could live with a category C ticket I think.
Anyone else considering a trip to the Vancouver Olympics? What events would you love to see up close?