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Rush is on for Variety tickets
THE rush for tickets for this year's Royal Variety Performance in Blackpool has started – with the hottest seats costing £295 each.
Excitement is building five months ahead of the Opera House show which will be held on December 7 in the presence of The Queen.
And even before the star-studded bill is announced interest is huge.
The 2,900 tickets have been offered to members of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund (EABF), the organisation which puts on the show.
The remainder were yesterday made available via a public ballot on the EABF website.
The 654 balcony seats cost 55 each, while 762 in the circle are 200 and 1,504 seats in the stalls a whopping 295.
An EABF spokesman said: "There is a huge demand for tickets, and only a small allocation available. We are sorry we are not able to satisfy all requests."
The show will be the first time the Royal Variety has been staged in Blackpool since 1955.
And to mark the occasion Blackpool Council last night announced it would be turning on the resort's Illuminations for the event.
The Lights are dimmed for the season at the start of November. However, the town will be lit up again for Her Majesty's arrival.
Council leader Peter Callow said: "The show is such a special occasion it's right and fitting the town is as bright and as pleasant as possible.
"The Royal Variety coming to Blackpool is a coup and sends out a strong message that Blackpool's on its way back up"
Both Coun Callow and Blackpool variety entertainer Duggie Chapman said the 55 tickets were a steal.
Mr Chapman said: "Obviously, some people could never dream of being able to go to the performance at 295 for the best seats.
"But the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund, who put on the Royal Variety Show, have no Government funding, and the revenue from this show is their only source of income.
"As the show is so special – it's in the presence of the Queen, and it's a tradition dating back years, it's justified to charge between 55 and 295.
"It costs more then 1m per year to keep the Fund going, so they need to charge this much.
"And 55 isn't bad, even if it's in the gods.I've already put in a bid for mine."
Meanwhile, Gazette readers have been sharing their memories of the 1955 Royal Command Performance in Blackpool.
Sandra Hall, 66, from Bispham, was in the audience as a 12-year-old.
She got tickets because her dad was a stage director at the venue, and she and her brother sat excitedly in the gods to watch the top acts of the day.
She said; "There was a lot of hustle and bustle and I remember the Queen looked very regal, as you would expect. You could see her holding hands with Prince Phillip.
"I remember the Blackpool Dance School and the Crazy Gang and Eddie Fisher being top of the bill."
Ethel Stote, 76, of Grange Road, Fleetwood, was a member of the Women's Royal Army Corps reserves who lined the route as the Queen's car was driven towards the Winter Gardens.
She said: "I was with my sister and it was wonderful. The Queen was waving to us all."
Pat Casey, of Common Edge Road, Marton, remembers going to the Plymouth Road roundabout with other youngsters to watch the Queen.
Her late father Jimmy also worked backstage at the Opera House.
She said: "They were making a toilet specially for the Queen and he came home and said it was all gold satin and pink, and nobody has to touch it."
Someone who knows a lot about the Queen's lavatory is Derek Parsons, of Alder Grove, Poulton, who worked for Lawrences, a well-known plumbing and heating merchants formerly in Buchanan Street.
He said: "At the time, The Tower company wanted to build a royal box, with special toilets built in the cloakroom area of the Circle Foyer.
"However, they were never used. One wonders how much they would be worth on eBay."
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Weather for Blackpool
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 4 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
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