Singalongarobbie: the Williams appeal

It's the biggest entertainment event ever staged in the country and it's all because of a young man who was once described as "just a fat dancer from a bad boyband". Around 135,000 people are due in the Phoenix Park today as the Robbie Williams show hits town.

Ten million people across Europe have already seen Williams's Escapology tour but today's show will be something extra for the singer - he sells more records, per capita, in Ireland than any other country in the world.

While most rock critics will be otherwise engaged washing their hair - Williams is a commercial but not a critical success - the multitudes going to the park will find a 50-acre site for the concert (twice the size of Slane), which will be enclosed by 35 kilometres of fencing.

The concert is a massive logistical exercise: there will be 1,500 working personnel at the show (from security to roadies) and 5,000 revolving lights and 30 tonnes of video screens are in position to illuminate and enhance a 500-metre long stage - by far the biggest ever seen in the country.

A traffic management plan, drawing on the resources of 400 gardaí, will attempt to minimise local disruption.

The show begins at 2 p.m. with a range of supporting acts, including Kelly Osbourne (daughter of Ozzy) and Northern Irish rockers Ash. Williams is expected on stage at about 8 p.m. and the show is expected to finish at about 10.30 p.m.

To put the scale of this concert in perspective, it helps to know that last week Williams played to 125,000 people each night for three nights running at a concert in Knebworth, not far outside London. Given that Greater London has a population of 12 million plus, the 135,000 going to the park today represents a far higher proportion of population.

Such is Williams's box-office power that when this show was announced last November, 90,000 tickets were sold in the first few hours. The concert promoters, MCD, released some additional tickets yesterday in an effort to dissuade people from buying tickets from ticket touts. There may still be a smattering of tickets available on www.ticketmaster.ie.

Starting off with boyband Take That, Williams greatly surprised the music industry with his emergence as a solo star (the only member of Take That tipped to avoid anonymity was their songwriter, Gary Barlow). Now on his fifth solo album, just last year Williams signed an estimated £80 million deal with his record company, EMI - the most lucrative deal ever signed in the British music industry.

Williams's massive popularity lies in his pan-generational reach. He not only appeals to a young female audience but also to people who traditionally would only buy one album a year. He specialises in pop/rock anthems which have a strong singalong appeal.

Expect a 135,000-strong singalong choir tonight.