Proposed prices for Wikimania tickets continue to seem artificially low. I'm not sure what the benefit to this is. Could people who have run events in other contexts comment on how you set ticket prices?
In my experience, tickets are set at roughly what it costs for each person to attend. Then there may be different sorts of tickets: for local supporters & volunteers, for school groups, for students & community members, presenters, VIPs & sponsors. Sponsorship helps ensure how many tickets of each type there are. Last-minute tickets are more expensive.
This has a few benefits: * tickets fully cover the cost of food and materials * tickets contribute significantly to covering the cost of the event * scholarships and reimbursements for attendance (for scholars, professionals, academics all getting covered by their home institutions), in paying for tickets, cover the full cost of those people attending the event. * more accurate headcounts in advance.
Warmly, Sam