Cape Town - One Direction fans camped out from early on Wednesday morning hoping to be at the front of the line when the boy band performs at the Cape Town Stadium later.
The four members of the band are visiting Cape Town for the first time as part of their “On The Road Again” tour.
For the fans, who arrived with flags, balloons and posters, it has been a year of anticipation since the group's tour of South Africa was first announced.
The teenagers, one even holding a bright sign with "Spit On Me Harry" scrawled on the front, were excited as they gathered together in groups chatting animatedly about the upcoming performance.
Even news that five-man group had lost one of their members, Zayn Malik, didn't seem to dent their enthusiasm.
Over the weekend, One Direction performed inside the packed FNB Stadium in Joburg in front of thousands of fans.
The Cape Town show is the group's final stop in South Africa before they depart to continue their tour around the globe.
On Tuesday a raucous mob of teenagers descended on the One&Only Hotel, where band members are reportedly staying.
Security had to keep the crowd of schoolgirls at bay at times.
Jessie Cooper, 14, and friends Emma Johnson and Maria Khan from Herschel Girls’ School waited in front of the hotel for 12 hours on Monday, and again on Tuesday from 10am.
“I have been waiting to see them for five years and I will be camping outside the stadium,” Emma said.
A screaming match unfolded when another teen chose two friends to join her in a suite she had booked at the hotel – leaving others behind.
The crowd of about 30 fans grew in size and excitement outside the hotel on Tuesday, while security guards warned them to stay off the private property.
Lauren Boehner, 14, and Ella Surtees, 15, from St Cyprians High School, were upset about being chased away. “We have loved the band for five years, we are finally getting to meet them, and now we are being chased away from the hotel,” Ella said.
A total of 45 000 tickets have been sold for One Direction’s Cape Town leg of the their tour.
Gwen Pamberi, spokeswoman for Big Concerts, said the tickets were sold out in the first three hours of going on sale last March. Tickets for the show in Joburg were sold out within 20 minutes.
When the band performed at the FNB Stadium in Soweto on Saturday, 60 000 fans attended.
One Direction has a fan base of more than 3 000 000 people in Britain and America. They have performed in more than 30 countries, have more than 6.49 million US albums sold, and more than 23.7 million US song downloads.
The band has won three Billboard Music Awards.
With a massive online following, One Direction has three billion YouTube views, more than 23 million followers on Twitter, and more than 37 million likes on Facebook.
As thousands of fans flock to the Cape Town Stadium to see the band playing on Wednesday night, they should take heed of the age and height restrictions.
Fans between the ages of 14 and 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Fans younger than 13 or shorter than 1.2 metres will not be allowed in the Golden Circle and General Admission field standing areas for safety reasons.
Teens are advised to charge their cellphone batteries for security purposes and a lost and found hub has been set up at the venue.
* Nabeelah Mohedeen is a reporter from Independent Media’s MOJO team, interning at the Cape Argus.
Cape Argus