Tickets for Robbie Williams's only Irish concert date at Croke Park next June sold out in just 20 minutes yesterday. All 80,000 tickets for the event were sold by 8.20am, making it the fastest-selling sale of concert tickets held in Ireland. In 1999, when Williams performed at Slane Castle, the same number of tickets sold out in 45 minutes.
Tickets for the June 9th concert went on sale simultaneously at 8am on the internet, over the telephone and at 100 outlets across the country.
"It was a ticket lottery. We could have sold out three Croke Parks and still not supplied the huge demand for tickets," said Eamonn O'Connor, managing director of Ticketmaster Ireland.
Last week, Robbie Williams sold over 1.6 million concert tickets for his 2006 world tour, valued at an estimated £80 million. The tour opens in Durban, South Africa, and will include 40 dates in 14 different countries.
Meanwhile, Williams has won an injunction in a German court against a woman who has been stalking him.
The woman had repeatedly tried to warn Williams that he was in danger of being abducted by aliens.
"The musician felt badgered and threatened by her," said Ulrich Thole, chief judge of the court in Dusseldorf, where the woman lives and where Williams is due to appear on a television show today.
The woman, who sees herself as a "life-counsellor", bombarded Williams and his entourage for months with faxes and e-mails, and attempted to book into the same hotel as him in Berlin.
A spokesman for the celebrity show hosting Williams today said the Düsseldorf woman did not need to worry. Even if she was right that aliens from outer space aimed to kidnap 31-year-old Williams, the police were prepared.
"The Düsseldorf police have dogs which can also detect aliens," Peter Grühne said.
(Additional reporting: Reuters)