Beyonce fans from as far a Germany and Australia already have booked their tickets to see the pop star perform in T&T on February 18. Ticket sales already are approaching $4 million, TSTT's manager, media relations and corporate communications, Graeme Suite, confirmed yesterday. "We introduced online sales last Friday evening and between Friday evening and Sunday we received almost 200 sales from people from the Caribbean, Germany and Australia," he said. "The show is picking up a lot of international feedback," Suite added. He said out of the 25,000 tickets printed about 4,000 have been purchased so far.
"The VVIP tickets are the hot-sellers. There are a little over a half remaining to be sold," he said. A break-down of the 25,000 tickets include: 4,000 VVIP tickets at a cost of $1,600 each; 8,000 VIP tickets which cost $1,000 each and 13,000 general admissions tickets, which will each cost $450. Suite said he expected a sold-out concert which meant that $20.25 million would be generated in tickets sales alone. A person with a VVIP ticket, Suite explained, would be entitled to an all-inclusive experience, which included drinks, food, as well as the best view of the stage. The VIP ticket holder would have a similar experience, he said. Suite said the Queen's Park Savannah had been confirmed as the official venue for the show. The exact location, he said, would be the western side of the savannah, close to Queen's Royal College.
LAY Management, a company jointly owned by cricket legend Brian Lara and local football icon Dwight Yorke, has been awarded the contract to get the venue ready for the show–this is minus stage, sound and light preparation. Events manager, Sean Burkett, has been given the mandate to do most of the work involved in hosting the show, including the stage, sound, lights, accommodation, transportation and security. Burkett has done similar work on TSTT concerts involving top recording artistes Kanye West, Rihanna, Anita Baker and John Legend. Suite said details of preparations for the concert would be revealed closer to the event. As to the local headline act for the show Suite said this was yet to be finalised. He said though: "It is not a list of persons, just one person," he said.
According to a source working closely with the production of the show, soca superstar Machel Montano may be TSTT's pick for the show. Yesterday, Montano's manager Elizabeth Montano said no arrangement had been made with TSTT and her son. "We have not been contacted and we have not signed any contract saying he would perform at the concert," she said. Beyonce would arrive in T&T with her entourage of 80 people, including her band, dancers, security and technical advisers, as part of her "I Am...Sasha Fierce" world tour. She is scheduled to perform in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru before coming to T&T.