While lucky fans were jubilant at securing tickets to see Grammy Award-winning teenager Lorde, others were heartbroken after tickets to her show in the Dunedin Town Hall sold out within hours yesterday afternoon.
Tickets to Lorde's October 29 show went on sale at noon and by 1pm most had sold. The last ticket sold just after 2.30pm.
Promoters also ruled out the possibility of a second show.
Caroline Orchiston said she was unable to buy tickets when she went online shortly after 1pm.
''I had it in my calendar that today was the day and at 1 o'clock I went to buy them and I missed out. I'm pretty ... gutted,'' Dr Orchiston, a 39-year-old University of Otago research fellow, said yesterday.
She had earlier tried to book pre-sale tickets and also missed out on those.
''I had my heart set on it and now that it's sold out ... this is the chance that I have missed.''
However, those lucky enough to buy tickets were ecstatic.
Schoolgirls Kyrah Hamilton (17) and Hetty Gilbertson (16) were ''excited'' to pick up their tickets.
''We are huge fans,'' Hetty said.
Kyrah said the girls planned to take the day of the concert off school so they could find a spot close to the stage.
''Go hard or go home,'' Hetty said, with a laugh.
The girls had a wall filled with Lorde posters at their boarding hostel and were looking forward to seeing her perform. Hetty said she hoped to track down the star's whereabouts when she arrived in Dunedin next month.
''I found her Facebook [page], it was under a fake name ... and hopefully we can find out where she is [in Dunedin],'' she said.
The diversity of Lorde's fan base was reflected by those queuing for tickets.
Among them was 40-year-old Greg North.
He was looking forward to the concert because big shows ''don't happen very often''.
''I thought why not [buy tickets],'' he said.
''She's a local artist and [I want to] support that and hear some good music,'' he said.
Promoters Frontier Touring and Brent Eccles Entertainment were keeping mum on how many tickets sold yesterday, but Dunedin Venues Management Ltd chief executive Terry Davies said up to 2200 fans could be accommodated in the town hall.
