Sleeping-bags lined the streets outside the Hutton inquiry yesterday as people queued through the night to see Mr Tony Blair give evidence.
The line snaked around the building, and was easily the longest seen on any day so far, with one couple even setting up home in a tent.
The first 10 members of the queue were assured places in the main courtroom itself - and competition was fierce.
Student Alex Holmes (18) found himself at the front of the queue when he arrived at 6.30 p.m. on Wednesday.
"I had no idea what time I should get here because it's my first day at the inquiry, but I knew I wanted to be in the first 10," he said.
"But others turned up within about five minutes and it's been good company, it's been a good experience. It's my first experience of staying out for a big event."
Mr Holmes, who will take up a place to study history and politics at Merton College, Oxford, in October, said the night was "probably the best of my holiday so far". The student, from Teignmouth, Devon, said he had brought a blanket and fleece to keep warm. "I have lasted the night on Walker's crisps and Kit Kats," he said.
"To actually see Tony Blair in the courtroom will be really exciting. I want to see if he can sustain his arguments and not hide behind spin."
Robert Robinson and Kate O'Connell, both 17, were the only people in the queue to have set up a tent.
Mr Robinson, of Crouch End, north London, said they had set it up when they arrived at 8 p.m. and slept inside from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. The pair also brought a blow-up mattress, mats, sleeping-bags and bagels.
Mr Robinson said: "I am a bit of a Wimbledon veteran, so I have queued up before, but not for something like this.
"I will definitely stay awake, it will be really interesting to see how it all works."
Ms O'Connell, of Finchley, north London, said: "This is typical of one of Robert's suggestions.
"I would like to see some questions that would get Tony Blair on his feet and see how he copes with the continual questioning."
By 8.30 p.m. the queue had swelled to more than 250 people, police estimated.
It snaked right around the building and double-backed on itself as the pavement along the front of the High Court was closed, ready for Mr Blair's arrival.
Management consultant Andrew Edwards said he decided to join the queue last night because he wanted to evaluate Mr Blair's performance for himself. He had previously visited the inquiry for the evidence of Mr Blair's director of communications, Mr Alistair Campbell, and Joint Intelligence Committee chairman, Mr John Scarlett.
He said: "I have followed it in the newspapers and on television but it doesn't cut it when it comes to something as serious as this so I wanted to see it first-hand. I want to know what involvement the Prime Minister had and how he made his decisions.
"This way, I can make my own judgment about his evidence."
Mr Edwards (41), of Mere, Wiltshire, said: "In one sense it doesn't matter if I agree with the Prime Minister, I am more interested in how he arrived at his decisions."
Mr Edwards, wearing a two-piece suit and shirt, had no camping-out paraphernalia with him. He said it had been a cold night but that his training in the territorial army had helped him to endure the wait.
"It means I can get through the cold but equally that I am not afraid of the dark and I know how to find a cup of tea," he added.