The sale of tickets for this year's Bermuda Music Festival descended into chaos yesterday as a computer system appeared to crash leaving some people who had queued since 3.30 a.m. without tickets.

Yesterday more than 12,000 tickets went on sale at three locations around the Island — Café Latte, in St. George's, Fairmont Hamilton Princess and the Fairmont Southampton Princess.

Seats were being booked through www.bermudamusicfestival.com. Pre-sale tickets available exclusively for Bermudians through a different web address sold out before noon on Wednesday.

The website system was overwhelmed, leaving people who had queued since the early hours without tickets, yet people who had joined the queue later managed to get tickets.

It appears the system was telling ticket sellers that the concerts had been sold out and then a few minutes later saying seats were still available.

One person who was at Fairmont Southampton told The Royal Gazette: "I think there were only three or four people who got tickets. The computer system was down for two hours. I was there a little over two hours. Within ten to 15 minutes of selling tickets, Alicia Keys was sold out and Beyoncé was almost sold out."

David Durham, of Yhoshi Productions, one of the producers of the festival, said: "The system was really overwhelmed by what took place. We really opened it up to the world and everyone took it in at one time. This festival, the branding on this with Alicia Keys, UB40 and Beyoncé, it's a reason to fly."

More than 12,000 tickets went on sale yesterday to see headline acts including Beyoncé and Alicia Keys line up at the Festival in October.

Other acts include The Whispers, UB40, Collie Buddz, Lyfe Jennings, Solange Knowles, Beyoncé's sister and Aaron Neville. The concerts will take place at the Fairmont Southampton Beach Club and the National Stadium.

Rock Newman, of Gibraltar Productions, the other festival producer, said all the tickets had been sold out by 8 a.m. leaving tickets available only for tourists.

He said it was bittersweet news. He was happy the tickets sold out but, at the same time, he felt bad for the unlucky patrons.

He said: "Tickets were selling like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They went crazy fast. The Whispers sold out I think after 7 a.m. Beyoncé and Alicia Keys sold out. There were some when I left the Princess for UB40. They are probably sold out now."

"It's a very interesting situation. The fact of the matter is that in 36 hours, we have more than 12,000 very happy and satisfied customers. We are pleased about that. Anyone that is unhappy that didn't get a ticket, I feel badly on the other hand."

Mr. Newman said the majority of the customer service problems happened because people did not follow the steps correctly on the website. He explained with the new ticketing system, there were a few temporary glitches and once people learned how to correctly use the site, the problems disappeared.

He said the only customer service problem they could not resolve was the amount of seats in the National Stadium.

With the new ticketing system, Mr. Newman said because it is "highly automated", he can tell when a ticket was purchased, what kind of card was used, and all the contact information about the buyer.

Asked why such a large amount of people were unable to get tickets even though they were at ticket locations from early in the morning, Mr. Newman said: "In fairness, here's what happened. At 6 a.m. we opened it up to the world and also opened it up to people to go to the outlets.

"Now what we did at a certain point, probably 7.30 a.m., we actually put the Internet and phone system on hold so people at the outlets had an opportunity to get tickets.

"I can tell you people got tickets at Hamilton Princess until they ran out. And then I personally went through the line and got every single person's telephone number, name, artist they wanted to see and how many tickets they wanted to buy. If tickets become available, we will go down the order.

"I understand that people who were not lucky enough to get the tickets are upset. but when you have an event like this of this magnitude, you only have a certain amount of seats to sell. Other than the tourists block, everything else is gone."

The Bermuda Music Festival takes place October 1 to 4 with R&B legends, The Whispers performing on opening night.

Other performers include Lyfe Jennings, Solange Knowles and big sister Beyoncé on Thursday night, UB40 and Collie Buddz Friday night and Aaron Neville and Alicia Keys on the final night.

The Department of Tourism was not able to confirm how many tickets have been reserved for tourists. A Government spokesperson refused to comment on how much the festival will cost taxpayers and who the corporate sponsors are.

However a statement confirmed that tickets for all nights of the Bermuda Music Festival are sold out.

A spokesperson said: "However the Department of Tourism has advised that visitors who wish to travel to Bermuda for the event will still be able to purchase tickets, as a specific allotment of packages have been set aside."

According to the Department "the sale of overseas travel packages has been robust and demand is high" and the Department is "working closely with designated Overseas Travel Specialists to ensure heightened visitor arrival for the 2008 Bermuda Music Festival".

The spokesperson added: "Tickets simultaneously went on sale online and at local outlets at 6.00 a.m. after the pre-sale for residents and Steve Harvey Fan Club members. Yesterday's allotment of tickets sold out in less than five hours.

"The Department also acknowledges that due to the unanticipated high demand, there were challenges experienced at the ticket venues, as it relates to the electronic ticketing process. This resulted in unusually long delays of ticket sales for patrons.

"BDOT officials and event producers Gibraltar Promotions LLC take this opportunity to apologise to patrons for the delays and any inconvenience caused."

ANGRY VOICES IN LINES

At Hamilton Princess, one woman said she had tried the 1-800 number but nothing worked.

Another irate patron said: "I had to leave my brother here, because I have to go back to work. We got there at 4.30 this morning and he's still in line."

From within the crowd of disgruntled residents could be heard comments: "They're no more tickets" and "This is crazy. This really wasn't well organised," while another said: "I don't understand, no one will tell us anything. I've been standing here waiting."

People called into Hott 107.5's morning show with Thaao Dill to voice their concerns only to be laughed at by the Senator DJ.

At Fairmont Southampton, employees were being trained on how to work the system at 6 a.m. when patrons had been waiting since 4 a.m., delaying the start of ticket sales.

• Were you at a ticket location early in the morning and are upset because tickets sold out? Please email your story to mpearman@royalgazette.bm