Crowds have flocked to London’s Royal Festival Hall desperate to get tickets to see Michelle Obama.
The former US first lady will be talking about her memoir, Becoming, at the Southbank Centre with novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, on December 3.
Tickets for Michelle Obama at Southbank Centre on 3 December have now Sold Out.
— Southbank Centre (@southbankcentre) November 8, 2018
Tickets sold out quickly and fans on social media said thousands of people were in the queue.
Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw wrote: “I was 30562 in the queue… so close.”
I was #30562 in the queue….so close https://t.co/5araYLvTZK
— nick grimshaw (@grimmers) November 8, 2018
We're currently experiencing extremely high levels of demand for Michelle Obama tickets both online and on our phone lines. Your patience is appreciated.
— Southbank Centre (@southbankcentre) November 7, 2018
A 5am wake up time + queuing at the Southbank Centre for the 3 hours (in the cold) + phone support from friends and work colleagues + a praying mother and the good grace of God = 2 TICKETS TO MICHELLE OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🎉🎉💃🏽💃🏽💥💥😭😭 pic.twitter.com/DFrK9uuBLH
— Matilda Egere-Cooper (@megerecooper) November 8, 2018
Obama will talk about her childhood and “her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work to her time spent at the world’s most famous address”.
She “will also share life lessons learned, and inspire people to become the very best version of themselves”.
The venue said it has asked for tickets on the site Viagogo to be removed.
Naah @PenguinUKBooks if you're behind the Michelle Obama event at Southbank I'd recommend an urgent rethink of venue and move it to a bigger venue…Thank you!
— Reee (@Chaud_TheMag) November 8, 2018
The good news is that I'm in the queue for tickets to see Michelle Obama at the Southbank Centre; the bad news is there are 38,000 ahead of me in the queue
— Dr Alice Lilly (@aliceolilly) November 8, 2018
People tweeted that they had been queuing since the early hours and demanded that a bigger venue, such as a stadium, was booked.
We have asked Viagogo to remove the tickets available on their site. Tickets bought from unauthorised third parties will be cancelled and invalid for entry. 1/2
— Southbank Centre (@southbankcentre) November 8, 2018
A spokeswoman for the Southbank Centre said: “The capacity of Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall is just over 2,700 and due to extreme demand for this event, unfortunately there will be people who are disappointed at not being able to purchase a ticket.
“We have worked hard to ensure that tickets are available to as wide an audience as possible by limiting tickets to two per booker and ensuring there is a lower price point.”