U2 concert almost without alcohol

Cape Town - U2’s concert on Friday at the Cape Town Stadium almost turned into a "dry concert". The stadium’s alcohol licence did not meet the legal requirements for the consumption of alcohol at the concert.

Steps had to be taken hastily last week to help the event organisers obtain the correct licence.

Director of the stadium, Mr Lesley de Reuck, on Wednesday said: "It was one of those last minute curve balls which had to be handled in order to get everything ready for the concert."

Unnecessary frustration

"We helped to accelerate the process and Big Concerts now has a licence that will ensure a sufficient supply of alcohol for all concertgoers."

"The other unexpected issues that needed attention were of a technical nature and have also been resolved."

"Everything is in place for the concert. We only ask that concertgoers arrive in time to avoid unnecessary frustration."

The 72 180 people who have tickets for the concert are 8 080 more than the number of spectators who last year attended the biggest soccer match yet at the stadium. Altogether 64 100 people attended the World Cup semi-final between Netherlands and Uruguay, Mr Louw Visagie, one of the stadium managers, said.

Correct tickets

"Everything is being done to make it as easy as possible for U2 fans to get into the stadium."

"We have set up 101 security checkpoints at the various entrances to the stadium for example, to ensure that the flow of people will not be interrupted or delayed," he said.

Those who have bought tickets must make sure that they have the correct tickets, reports Annelie Maré.

According to Mr Emile Davids from Computicket, the ticket voucher that was initially issued looks very similar to the admission ticket.

A voucher will not, however, ensure your admission.

"We have sent out SMSs this week to all those who haven’t picked up their actual tickets from Computicket yet," Davids said on Wednesday.

The actual tickets have a barcode that will be scanned at the entrance, which the ticket voucher doesn’t have.

Transport

The City of Cape Town encourages U2 fans to make use of public transport to and from the Cape Town Stadium to avoid congestion.

Extra event-related public transport will supplement the usual public transport services and Metrorail has arranged for additional trains to run after the event.

According to the City of Cape Town, this will ease the anticipated high traffic flows and ensure that fans arrive on time and are not delayed after the concert.

Click here for the full transport details.