George Tyndale: Why should we pay for Pope visit?

Aug 16 2010

THE tickets went like wildfire and it’s one of the biggest outdoor shows ever staged in and around Birmingham.

It’s bigger than Bruce Springsteen at Villa Park. It dwarfs UB40 at St Andrews. And that pop Party in the Park is strictly small fry by comparison.

Already the black market sharks are nibbling round the edges of the official tour merchandise – of which there are pages and pages in the catalogue – prompting a Trading Standards alert.

Buy the genuine article and the programme will set you back a tenner. The t-shirts measure up at £18.50, or a couple of quid more if you want your name on them like any flocking football fan.

Baseball caps are £15; a sweatshirt will set you back £30; a keyring costs a fiver; a tote bag carries an £8 price tag; a fridge magnet is a cool £5, and a mug (that’s the souvenir item, not you) is priced £8.

But wait, there’s more.

How about a crystal bracelet for £30, a plate for £20 or – the piece de resistance – a battery-powered flickering electric candle for an illuminating £3?

They’ll be there in their thousands, clasping their candles, just waiting for the moment that Robbie rejoins his Take That boy bandmates on stage.

Except that this isn’t Take That. It isn’t even the latest passing fad in the pop charts. All the tacky treats are being offered to celebrate a big name performer of an altogether different nature.

Not pop but Pope.

Pope Benedict XVI, to be precise.

Souvenirs