// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Criticism as thousands of seats empty at Europeans Athletics Championships
Amy Hunt won the women's 100m final on Monday evening but the stadium was nowhere near full
Nearly 10,000 seats were empty at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium for the European Athletics Championships on Monday evening.
A crowd of 13,623 watched as Britain's 24-year-old sprinter Amy Hunt stormed to her first senior international title, in a stadium that has a capacity of 23,000.
Athletics supporters blamed ticket prices, with some describing them as "extortionate", while BBC commentator Steve Cram commented that spectator numbers were a "little disappointing".
But Birmingham 2026 organisers said they were "delighted" with ticket sales, which have "far surpassed" their targets with "Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening sessions approaching sell-out, with several other sessions close to capacity".
On Monday, Category A tickets for the home straight cost £150 with no concessions for juniors.
For the men's 100m final on Tuesday, those same seats cost £110, again with no concessions - while a similar ticket for the same final in Rome two years ago was 88 euros (£75).
It is Britain's first time hosting the championships in their 92-year history.
The Alexander Stadium was 55% full on Monday morning, 59% full by the evening and 56% full on Tuesday morning, according to figures from the organisers.
Jenny Meadows, Keely Hodgkinson's co-coach, posted on social media to say: "Believe it's full for some final evenings but a shame we couldn't fill the stadium for the duration."