Streisand fans unfazed by ticket price

LONDON (Reuters) - Tickets for Barbra Streisand's first UK tour in 13 years are expected to sell out when they go on sale on Friday, despite some of the highest prices ever seen in the country.

The best seats at the O2, formerly known as the Millennium Dome, will cost 600 pounds. For Justin Timberlake -- performing at the same venue just days before -- they are just 55 pounds.

But fans are undaunted.

Lynne Pounder, a consultant on Streisand's official Web site, said friends have been calling, saying they "do not care what it takes" to get a ticket to the July 18 concert.

"I had a friend phone me this morning at 9 a.m. who was psyched because she said pre-sale tickets had sold out," she told Reuters.

"To me, the price is just one element that people have got hold of. I've been told that you can pay 1,600 pounds to go to a boxing match to see two men bash the life out of each other, or for an FA Cup (football) ticket.

"It is everybody to their own.

"Yes, you may have to shell out a couple of weeks' wages, but it is nice to see some of the greats who are still out there. We have Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones, but Elvis and Sinatra have gone."

Some of the proceeds from the tour, which also takes in Paris, Vienna, Nice and Dublin, will go to The Barbra Streisand Foundation which supports causes including the environment, civil rights and disadvantaged youngsters.