Pop princess Britney Spears performs in Scarborough tonight!

In January, when the show was announced, social media was flooded with incredulous comments that our seaside town had somehow managed to attract the legendary superstar, and a show which she performed in Las Vegas for four years.

Typical of the comments were: "Britney Spears playing Scarborough is the biggest curveball 2018 could possibly have thrown at us."

“I can’t believe of all the places in the UK to perform the actual real life Britney Spears is playing in Scarborough.”

And: “Scarborough’s Open Air Theatre is the only venue at which a steam train or indeed a Grade II listed waterchute operating adjacent to the stage may distract you from a Britney Spears concert”.

When reality set in, the show quickly sold out ... and tomorrow 8,500 people – fans, lovers of spectacular events and the curious – will pack the venue for the singer’s first date of a brief

UK tour which then takes in London, Manchester, Dublin and Glasgow.

Dazzling fans with show-stopping performances for more than 15 years, multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning pop sensation Spears is one of the most successful and celebrated entertainers in pop history, her seductive performances backed by almost 100 million records sold worldwide.

This tour follows Britney’s record-breaking, four-year headlining residency, at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, where Britney received rave reviews from both critics and fans alike since opening in December 2013.

Britney’s is the penultimate show at the Open Air Theatre this year – on Saturday, indie favourites James take to the stage as the venue signs off its most ambitious season to date.

That season began with another legend, Lionel Richie, and continued with The Script, Gary Barlow, Nile Rodgers and Chic, Steps, Alfie Boe, Emeli Sandé, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Stereophonics, Pete Tong, Il Divo, Bastille, Texas and James Arthur.