Tickets to see former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama on February 15 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre went on sale at 11 a.m. on January 10 for members of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and members snapped up all tickets.
Sales to the general public would have launched January 18 had there been any left.
“We have never experienced this level of interest in an event,” said Iain Black, president and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, which is hosting the event.
“While pleased that our website did not crash, it did slow down temporarily shortly after member sales opened this morning, as it experienced over 150 times the normal traffic.”
This is Obama’s first official visit to Vancouver and it comes on the heels of a sold-out December 13 event at the Vancouver Convention Centre, where former First Lady and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed more than 5,000 people who paid up to $1,500 each.
Tickets for Obama ranged up to $658.20.
Before marrying former U.S. President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School.
Many people who were unable to get tickets and thought that some tickets should have been made available to the general public took to Twitter to express frustration.
Black, however, explained that his organization exists for, and because of its members, about 80% of whom work at small businesses.
