Sports fans expecting the Athens 2004 Olympic Games to be cheaper than those in Sydney may be in for a shock.

Although 9,000 miles closer to home, guideline package holiday prices for the 28th Olympiad, released this week, appear to be on a par with last time.

Simon Gillespie, marketing director of Sportsworld, the official British Olympic ticket and tour vendor, says: 'The difference between the two events is that although flights to Athens will be cheaper, top-rate hotels will be more expensive. So the prices won't be a million miles away from those in Sydney.'

A shortage of five-star hotel accommodation in the Greek capital has caused the organising committee to arrange the building of 5,000 new hotel beds, for cruise ships with 5,000 cabins to be docked in Piraeus harbour, and 3,000 homes and apartments to be vacated by Athenians to cope with demand.

Three nights' B&B accommodation, flights and transfers at the first Olympic games to be held on main land Europe since Barcelona 1992 will set you back from £1,775 per person, while a late-deal one week's room-only accommodation, event tickets and return flights to Sydney in 2000 cost from £1,720.

Despite the prices, the relative proximity of the forthcoming Olympics, and the fact that they can be combined with a classic Mediterranean summer holiday leads Gillespie to believe they will be much more popular with UK holidaymakers than those in Sydney.

Due to this expected demand a registration system has been set up to provide a priority list for when the sale of packages and tickets starts in March 2003.

The Games run from 13-29 August 2004. Tickets will cost from £10 for a session at fringe events such as baseball, to £690 for the athletics medal ceremonies.

You can register with Sportsworld (01235 554844) on 01235 541173. The fully refundable registration costs £250 for holiday packages and £100 for tickets alone.