Ticket sales are open for the 2022 FINA World Championships, which run from June 17 – July 3 in Budapest, Hungary. Tickets to all five sports–pool swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, and open water–are on sale. 180,000 tickets are available, and are being released in three separate waves.
With the exception of open water tickets, which are a flat price, the Organizing Committee has created between two and four price categories for tickets by sport. The goal here is to make the events financially accessible for as many people as possible.
TICKET PRICES
| Sport | Morning Session Price Range (HUF) | Morning Session Price Range (USD) | Afternoon Session Price Range (HUF) | Afternoon Session Price Range (USD) |
| Pool Swimming | 1,500 – 9,000 | 4.20 – 25.18 | 5,000 – 19,000 | 13.99 – 53.15 |
| Artistic Swimming | 1,500 – 9,000 | 4.20 – 25.18 | 5,000 – 19,000 | 13.99 – 53.15 |
| Diving | 1,000 – 2,000 | 2.80 – 5.59 | 1,500 – 3,000 | 4.20 – 8.39 |
| Open Water | 3,000 | 8.39 | – | – |
Ticketing for water polo works differently than the other sports. All-day passes are available; ticket prices increase as the competition moves through round-robin, playoffs, semis, and finals phases. Water polo is hugely popular in Hungary, which is reflected by it being the most expensive ticket at World Championships.
| Round Robin Price Range (HUF) | Round Robin Price Range (USD) | Playoffs Price Range (HUF) | Playoffs Price Range (USD) | Semis Price Range (HUF) | Semis Price Range (USD) | Finals Price Range (HUF) | Finals Price Range (USD) | |
| Water Polo | 4,000 – 6,000 | 11.19 – 18.76 | 5,000 – 9,000 | 13.99 – 25.18 | 6,000 – 12,000 | 16.78 – 33.57 | 8,000 – 24,000 | 22.38 – 67.14 |
Organizing Committee member and Wizzair CEO Jozsef Varadi said the committee expects “almost 40 percent of the state funds spent on this event [to] return to the treasury.”
Budapest took on hosting duties for the World Championships with only four months’ notice. Varadi explained the decision, saying “it’s going to be a huge kick for the hoteliers and other service providers and the city can also reposition itself in the global market.”
Sandor Wladar, Chair of the Organizing Committee and President of the Hungarian Swimming Association said Budapest was only able to take on the World Championships because of the “investments made by the country and its government in 2017 [for that year’s World Championships]. What we built back then is the base for what we plan this summer.”
Compared to other editions of this meet, ticket prices for the swimming competitions have a wider range. At the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, single session tickets ranged from $8.50 to $23. Water polo was cheaper, maxing out at $38 for the final, while diving was more expensive, with the most expensive finals ticket priced at $53. This price differential likely reflects the host countries’ interest in each sport.
At the 2017 World Championships, which Budapest also hosted, tickets to diving were similarly priced, ranging from $2 to $5.50. Pool swimming and artistic swimming have gotten more expensive this year. In 2017, a prelims ticket cost $2 and a finals ticket cost about $7.
