Just a quarter of the 4,000-strong crowd that will pack the Point Theatre for the sixth annual MTV Europe Music Awards on Thursday have paid for their tickets.
About 1,000 people, most of them Irish, according to organisers, bought their tickets for £22 when they went on sale last October. They purchased them by calling special phone lines. The tickets sold out in four minutes.
The rest of the seats will be taken by the music industry. About 1,000 members of the media from all over the world will be present, but they will be based in the sprawling tented village that has been constructed alongside the venue. The media will watch the concert screens in the village and will not have access to the Point.
There will be severe traffic restrictions around the venue from early Thursday morning, and those without tickets are being advised to stay away. From 3.30 p.m. the East Link bridge will close to southbound traffic. Northbound traffic will continue to cross the bridge and will be diverted around the Point Theatre. Southbound motorists should use the North Strand/Amiens Street route.
Gardai have outlined two set-down points for those attending the concert: one at the North Wall Quay and one at East Wall Road. There is expected to be a large Garda presence on the day.