From the stands to the sofa, watching sport in Britain has never been more expensive

At least £115 to watch a day of the Ashes at Edgbaston. A minimum of £255 for a standard seat at the Wimbledon singles finals. Prices starting from £289 for general admission to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Those are the prices British sports fans have been told a single adult must pay to attend some of the country's most beloved events in 2027 — and they mark a steep climb from the start of the decade, even as attendances across most sports remain strong.

Ashes, Wimbledon and Silverstone: the numbers behind the rise

The scale of the increase has drawn anger from supporters since the rises were announced earlier this summer. The minimum price for an Ashes day at Edgbaston has jumped from £65 the last time Australia visited in 2023 to £115 in 2027 — a rise of £50 in four years. Admission at other venues, including The Oval, is even higher. When England last toured Australia, some seats were sold at all five venues for between £16 and £22.

At Wimbledon, the most expensive standard seat for both singles finals will be £400 in 2027, up £50 on 2026 and more than double the cost from 2017. Even a Centre Court ticket for the middle Saturday now costs at least £130. Silverstone's Grand Prix Sunday general admission has risen to £289 from £189 in 2021, while the cheapest allocated seat now costs at least £609, up from £276 five years ago. General admission to the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor will cost €499 (£434), compared with up to €260 (£220) in Italy in 2023.

Events staged this year laid bare the trend further. Fans paid £150 to attend a day of The Open at Royal Birkdale, up from £95 at St Andrews in 2022. FA Cup final prices ranged from £50 to £285 in 2026, compared with £50 to £120 in 2016.

"It's just ludicrous," says Lee Hanlon, an England cricket fan who lives close to Edgbaston but has decided not to attend next summer's Ashes because of the price rise. "I'm angry. It seems like a lot of the normal cricket fans have been priced out. It seems like just people with money are going now. The increase is just too much. I find it upsetting."

How organisers justify the rises

In a BBC Sport website poll, 95% of respondents said tickets for the 2027 Ashes were too expensive. Organisers, however, point to wider economic trends.

"We exist in an experience economy — we have definitely seen a subtle shift in the value people are placing on belonging, on the atmosphere you can be part of when you attend a live experience," said Mark Darbon, chief executive of the R&A, which operates golf's Open Championship. "So when we set our prices we start by looking at some of the other major sporting events and benchmark ourselves, on price and value for money, by looking at what others are delivering."

Darbon noted that ticketing generates less than 20% of The Open's total revenue and that hosting costs have risen 25% in five or six years — an incremental £10-12m. "We have to cover those costs," he said. The Open offers half-price tickets for 16-24 year olds and free entry for children.

An Edgbaston spokesperson said: "Our entry-level ticket prices roughly match inflation compared to the last time Australia visited Edgbaston in 2023 — but like the rest of the country, we're battling increased costs and trying to manage these wherever we can."

Richard Flint, chairman of hospitality platform Seat Unique, said premium and hospitality ticketing is broadening: "We are seeing more and more regular people willing to pay for a special experience at sport. Corporate boxes are being broken down more and more into individual seats, so it's less about people taking 10 of their colleagues and more about a couple, or four people, going together. Sometimes stadiums need updating and the revenue from premium ticketing can help fund a new stadium or new stand, so there are benefits to the everyday fan."

The rising cost of watching from home

For armchair fans, the expense of television subscriptions is also a barrier. A football fan in the UK must subscribe to Sky Sports, TNT Sports, Amazon Prime and Premier Sports to watch all Premier League, Champions League and Scottish Premiership matches, plus a TV licence for BBC and ITV coverage.

"It certainly helps when you can say to a fan that they only need to buy one subscription to see everything in one sport," said Pete Oliver, CEO of growth markets for streaming service DAZN. "The UK is a very tough market. The cost of entertainment [subscriptions] generally will increase over time. There is natural inflation in the market, there is a lot of competition for sports rights, the athletes want to be paid more money, and the leagues want to do what is right for them, and if they can get somebody to pay more for the content, they will."

Pierre Maes, a sports media rights consultant, warned: "I think in the short term, the fans who are not going to illegal solutions are going to pay more to watch sport. But we have reached a kind of roof — people have to pay a [limit]."

Football fans' wider access fears

The pressure on supporters is not confined to one-off events. Prior reporting from 23 September 2026 highlighted that Premier League season-ticket holders fear being pushed down the pecking order as clubs chase tourists. Arsenal, like Manchester United, have acted against the perceived misuse of tickets, suspending nearly 74,000 club accounts, while United fan groups protested against the club's ownership, claiming "the way you treat us is a disgrace." The concern among match-going fans echoes the broader frustration over being priced out of live sport.