It was a long and chilly wait for the scores of diehard fans who were spending their second night out in Belfast city centre desperate to snap up One Direction tickets. But as Gail Bell reports spirits remained high despite the dipping temperatures
THE queue at Ticketmaster's Castle Place outlet grew steadily yesterday morning even though it was a full 24 hours before tickets were to be released.
Not only were they queuing yesterday, fans desperate to see the famous five - Harry, Niall, Zayn, Liam and Louis - ignored the 7am 'queue ban' and were lining up outside the DV8 shop since early on Thursday morning. Countless teenagers wrapped up in sleeping bags and Arctic-style coats braved the chill while others came better prepared with the relative luxury of a pop-up tent.
Huddling under a massive umbrella were friends Jamie Beggs and Susan Cahill, both from Belfast, who were queueing in the hope of securing tickets for a number of desperate daughters and nieces. "You're only allowed six tickets each, so we should hopefully have 12 to share between us," Susan said. "I just hope they appreciate this - we have been surviving on flasks of tea and packets of biscuits."
Mum Carol-Lee Annesley from Belfast was also camping out for her daughter, Chelsea-Lee (8), a "massive fan" who has the boys "stalked out". "This is a Christmas present for her but it's been a hard few days," she admitted. "At one point, I thought I should have brought a tent but last night there were some drunks about, shaking the tents and causing a bit of hassle. "At least when you are sitting in a chair in the fresh air, you can seen what's happening but I'll certainly be glad to get back to home comforts."
As well as Castle Place, queues formed at the Odyssey box office and Creighton's Garage on the Lisburn Road, despite concert promoters Aiken's, having earlier discouraged people from queuing outside the 17 ticket outlets across the north.
A spokeswoman said: "No queuing permitted until 7am on Saturday, December 6 will minimise disruption to residents and retailers in the run-up to Christmas."
Fans were also warned against buying tickets from unofficial sources after websites were set up offering invalid tickets.
The boys will play the Odyssey on October 20 and 21 next year in what will undoubtedly be a sell-out performance.
* 1D DEDICATION: Above, Carol-Lee Annesley tries to keep warn while queueing yesterday for One Direction tickets with other dedicated fans in Belfast, main. Inset, Jessica McCabe passes the time while camping outside DV8 on Thursday night PICTURES: Hugh Russell and, inset, Declan Roughan
* HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN: Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles