|
|
| Lazy Bones |
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
Stones tix up, up, up
240,000 sold and now A&P has another 100,000
By ROB GRANATSTEIN -- Toronto Sun
If the Rolling Stones can't get satisfaction out of these numbers then there really is no pleasing them.
The July 30 SARS benefit concert at Downsview Park is already the band's biggest-ever ticketed concert, with more than 240,000 tickets sold in four days.
And due to the overwhelming demand, A&P Supermarket has ordered 100,000 more tickets for the concert to sell at its stores.
The grocery store chain will now have 340,000 tickets to sell for the mega-concert featuring AC/DC, Rush, Justin Timberlake and more.
A&P's tickets go on sale starting Friday.
"There's overwhelming demand," said Tammy Smitham, spokesman for A&P Canada. She said calls have flooded in from all over Ontario, especially rural areas, looking for tickets.
CALLS FROM THUNDER BAY
Those tickets are in addition to the 240,000 that have already been sold, including all 150,000 of Ticketmaster Canada's initial allotment.
"We were surprised about how many calls we were getting in places like Thunder Bay, which is a 15-hour drive from Toronto," Smitham said, adding the chain felt they had to order more of the $21.50 tickets. "We don't want to disappoint anybody," she said.
A&P will be selling 20,000 of the tickets at Farmer Jack stores in Michigan, the only store in its chain outside Ontario so far to do so.
Sen. Jerry Grafstein said all these ticket sales have happened before a big U.S. advertising campaign starts this week.
"It's bubbling," Grafstein said of the concert. "We've touched a Canadian emotional button."
MP Dennis Mills said before more tickets are released he will have to go to the TTC, security firms, the companies providing the toilets and the city to ensure they can all be ready in such a short period to handle more people.
An estimated 800,000 people saw Pope John Paul last summer at Downsview Park.
ROCK'S BIGGEST TICKETS
The Rolling Stones July 30 Toronto concert is on its way to becoming the largest-ever ticketed concert. Here are a look at some of the largest free and ticketed concerts of all time:
# August 1965: 56,000 fans show up at Shea Stadium in New York to see the Beatles, their largest crowd on any tour.
# August 1969: Approximately 400,000 people cram Max Yasgur's farm in New York state for Woodstock. It's rumoured another 250,000 never made it in to the concert.
# December 1969: 300,000 show up for the Rolling Stones free concert at Altamont Speedway, 65 km east of San Francisco. The program included Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Grateful Dead (who decided not to play).
# September 1981: 500,000 people listen to Simon & Garfunkel play a free concert in New York's Central Park.
# June 1982: 800,000 people rally at Central Park for nuclear disarmament. They hear Bruce Springsteen, Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor play.
# April 1990: 184,000 cram a Rio de Janeiro stadium to see Paul McCartney, the biggest-ever stadium show.
# August 1991: 600,000 to 750,000 go to Central Park to see Paul Simon play a free concert.
# August 1997: 250,000 (or as many as 900,000 if you ask him) see free Garth Brooks show at Central Park.
# 2003: More than 240,000 tickets have already been sold for the Rolling Stones and friends SARS benefit concert in Toronto. A&P has purchased another 100,000 tickets to sell starting Friday. (More on the Rolling Stones) |
|
|
| steel driving hammer |
Josh what do you think of those numbers? Pretty good eh? |
|
|
| LadyJane |
Nice to know I will be attending the largest Rolling Stones Concert in history!!!! 
LadyJ. |
|
|
| corgi37 |
Very impressive. I hope the whole world gets to see the show. However, the article missed some important shit. What about the Hyde Park show in 69? Crowd of up to 500,000 estimated. |
|
|
| tumbling_dice |
Was there really only 300k at Altamont? I thought it was a lot more. |
|
|
| nankerphelge |
GENEVA — The World Health Organization (search) removed Toronto from its list of SARS (search)-infected areas Wednesday, saying Canada's largest city had contained the virus.
The decision means Taiwan (search) is the last on what was once a long list of countries reporting local transmissions in the last 20 days. It will likely shed that distinction Saturday if there are no new cases between now and then.
"This is a great achievement for public health in what we hope is the final phase of the global emergency," said David Heymann, WHO's head of communicable diseases. "Toronto faced an especially challenging outbreak."
Toronto had the largest SARS outbreak outside of Asia, with 39 deaths and almost 250 cases. More than 27,000 people in and around the city were forced into quarantine during the two outbreaks -- one in March and April and the second in May and June.
Although there have been no recent new cases, a number of people remain critically ill and the death toll could rise. The latest death Sunday was of a nurse -- the first Canadian health care worker to die from SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.
Canada was one of the first places affected by SARS, which is believed to have started in southern China and spread to other places through air travel.
The WHO in April warned travelers against all but essential travel to Toronto. It lifted the warning a week later, but the initial cancelations and a second outbreak of the virus in May have devastated the city's tourism industry and had a large impact on the economy.
The WHO's announcement is a timely boost for officials from the Canadian city of Vancouver who are bidding for the right to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The decision from the International Olympic Committee, meeting in Prague, is expected later Wednesday. |
|
|
| Moonisup |
will the crowd go nude? |
|
|
| Zanck |
Heh!
I'm surprised that J.Timberlake fellow is one of the openers considering what one Jagger had to say about Timberlakes 'moves' in a recent interview |
|
|
| steel driving hammer |
How come Paul McCartney will not perfom to help out Toronto?
Is Paul Anti Toronto and Pro SARS???????????????????????
|
|
|
| Miss U. |
Please, don't bring Paul |
|
|
| Maxlugar |
[quote]steel driving hammer wrote:
Is Paul Anti Toronto and Pro SARS???????????????????????
LOL! Yup and pro Scabies!
That bitch.
You know, it's hard to get a sense of just how many people were at Altamont. You never really see any sweeping shots of the crowd from the back towards the stage. Everything is very up close so it seems like a club show almost. I'd have to check but I think the DVD had some bonus material still shots like that.
M! |
|
|
| Miss U. |
Oh, you're just jealous, dahling. lol.
RIP BRIAN JONES!! |
|
|
| TomL |
gonna be Rock N Roll history. |
|
|
| polytoxic |
we're up to 350,000 as of July 4. |
|
CHAT
ROOM aka THE FUN HOUSE] [
RESTROOMS]