The World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 are set to kick off on August 19, with more than 2,000 athletes from 200 countries vying for the top spots and the prize money that comes with them. Those cash prizes aren’t the only money at stake throughout the competition, though, as ticket prices and betting lines for the nine-day event will also command a lot of attention.
Tickets can be purchased from the meet’s official website, and they are available for 14 sessions, including five morning sessions and nine evening sessions. Six events will take place outside the stadium in Budapest’s city center, including race walking and marathon events, which are free of charge.
Prices for the morning session tickets for Categories One to Four are 3,000 HUF (about $8.50), while premium and premium finish line tickets for the morning sessions are 6,900 HUF ($20). For the evening tickets, the prices will differ between days and categories. Ticket packages are also available; the most expensive will run you 1,958,000 HUF (or just under $5,600) for all nine days. The stadium seats 36,000 spectators.
A lot of money is sure to be made off betting, which continues to gain steam in the U.S., with many now-legal sportsbooks having set odds for the 200-meter race. Unibet Sportsbook has given Noah Lyles the most favored odds at -286, making him their clear favorite to win. Bettors hoping for a longshot should place their bets on Italian Filippo Tortu, who has the longest odds at +25000.
As for the athletes themselves, they’ll be hoping to win a part of the $8,498,000 total prize money being offered this year, in addition to a special prize of $100,000 to be awarded to an athlete should they also set a world record at the event. For individual events, the prize money starts at $5,000 for eighth place and up to $70,000 for the gold. Meanwhile, relay teams will earn between $4,000 and $80,000 per team.
Laura Ratliff is a New York City-based writer, editor, and runner. Laura's writing expertise spans numerous topics, ranging from travel and food and drink to reported pieces covering political and human rights issues. She has previously worked at Architectural Digest, Bloomberg News, and Condé Nast Traveler and was most recently the senior editorial director at TripSavvy. Like many of us, Laura was bitten by the running bug later in life, after years of claiming to "hate running." Her favorite marathon is Big Sur.
