Councillors keep hold of Van Morrison tickets

Belfast councillors are keeping hold of 500 tickets for the concert to celebrate Van Morrison being granted the ‘freedom of the city’. Van Morrison (photo by Art Siegel)The 68 year old will perform on 15th November after the council voted that the music legend should receive the honour.

The concert will be at the Waterfront Hall, which has a capacity of 2,250, but the council has angered locals by only releasing around 80% of tickets on general sale. 500 tickets have been reserved for the members of the council, with each of the 51 elected representatives receiving four tickets. A number will also be taken up by members of the music industry, special guests of Van Morrison and other VIPs.

Demand from the general public is expected to be far more than the amount of tickets remaining, so the council has arranged a lottery type system to allocate tickets out. The successful entrants will receive two tickets for the gig.

‘We’ve tried to do this in the fairest way possible’

Ulster Unionist Belfast councillor Jim Rodgers defended the decision to give each councillor four tickets before offering them to the public to the BBC’s Nolan Show:

“If you look at councils, look at assemblies, look at parliaments throughout the world, their elected representatives get the opportunity of being invited along as guests. We’ve tried to do this in the fairest way possible and no matter what you come up with there will always be people who are unhappy and disappointed.”

Any member of the public that would like to apply for a ticket should visit the Waterfront Hall in person or go online to the venue’s website.

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By Andrew Moore

Andrew Moore is a writer for Irish Music Daily and Ireland Calling. His favourite Irish music bands are the Dropkick Murphys and the Pogues.