FANS have been camping out overnight in order to be the first to get their hands on tickets for an eagerly awaited concert in the region.

Tickets for next year’s Take That concert are expected to be snapped up in double-quick time and some fans are so desperate not to miss out that they set up camp a full 72 hours before they go on sale today.

The reformed five-piece, with Robbie Williams back in the line-up, start their schedule at the Stadium of Light, in Sunderland, next May.

Even as the fans queued for tickets for the ageing boyband, delighted stadium bosses announced another coup – with the news that one of the world’s biggest rock bands, the Kings of Leon, will perform at the venue in June.

Take That fan Tanya Kayne, 28, who made headlines when she became the first in the queue for tickets to see the band last year, was back again to see her idols this time.

She said: “We’re very pleased Robbie is back. It’s going to be great seeing the lads all together.”

Vicky Brearley, a 19-year-old sales advisor from Southwick, Sunderland, was not so sure about the wisdom of reforming, adding: “I hope I get to go.

I prefer their recent songs and Robbie by himself, but we will have to see.”

Singer-songwriter Gary Barlow has announced that the band chose Sunderland to launch its European tour after the warm welcome it received last time.

He said: “We had such a great start to the last tour in Sunderland because everyone was just so lovely to us.

“We stayed in a fantastic hotel on the beach, met some lovely people, had some great weather and the stadium really was a great venue.

“Niall Quinn was amazing.

He got us all Sunderland football shirts with our names on the back for our kids, which was really nice.

“It was all of these things that made us determined to start our tour there this time.”

The Progress Live 2011 show comes to the region on May 30.

Meanwhile, Sunderland AFC has announced American superstars Kings of Leon will headline one of a series of outdoor concert next year. The show takes place on Friday, June 17, and tickets will go on sale from 9am on Wednesday.

Sunderland AFC chief executive Steve Walton said: “We are delighted to have secured another huge act to perform at the stadium. Following on from Take That, welcoming Kings of Leon is fantastic and they’ll bring a different audience to our city and the North-East as a whole.”