Tickets for a concert by legendary guitarist Eric Clapton in Bahrain was sold out within two hours of going on sale yesterday (February 22).

Hundreds of people turned up at Bahrain City Centre in an effort to secure a seat at one of the country's most eagerly anticipated concerts, taking place at the Arad Fort on March 8, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The Spring of Culture website, where tickets were also being sold, crashed within a half hour of them going on sale, but was reportedly back online within 14 minutes.

One unlucky fan was in the queue for three hours and had reached second in the line when organisers announced they had sold out.

He told the GDN hundreds of other hopefuls were still standing behind him at the time.

Another fan described the ticket situation as a "debacle".

"Only 2,000 tickets were on sale for such a huge event," he said. "They could have sold 10 times that.

"They should have chosen a bigger venue like a sports stadium. The Rolling Stones just performed in Abu Dhabi in front of 35,000 people, they know how to do it right."

But a spokesman for the Economic Development Board (EDB), which organised the concert, brushed off the criticism, saying it was great news the tickets had sold out.

"It shows that we brought a big name to Bahrain that the audience is going to enjoy," he said.

"The site crashed for just 14 minutes this morning, and 75 per cent of the tickets on sale were purchased through the site, so everything went relatively smoothly.

"Arad Fort has its place in the Spring of Culture, it's where we hold the events annually.

"The purpose was to always hold them there. "We have, however, increased seats at the venue from last year.

"It was 1,700 and it is 2,000 seats this year." - TradeArabia News Service