WHEN the Wembley turnstiles swung open for Live Aid, 72,000 fans dashed for the plum stage-front positions. But at Live 8, a band of gold ticket holders will have the best view as corporate hospitality invades the world’s biggest charity event.

VIP tickets for the Hyde Park Africa awareness concert are already being sold for up to £400 through official corporate hospitality packages.

The Gold Circle tickets guarantee access to food, drink and entry to an exclusive reserved area in front of the stage, offering a close-up view.

More than two million people have entered the text message lottery to win tickets for the July 2 event starring Sir Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams, U2 and Madonna.

But barriers will divide the 133,000 ticket winners chosen by computer next Monday from the Gold Circle reserved for 15,000 special guests standing directly in front of the stage.The Gold Circle tickets were yesterday advertised as part of an accommodation package including two nights at the Royal Lancaster or Marriot Maida Vale London hotels.

Guests of the concert sponsors, such as O2, operators of the text lottery and AOL, in charge of the internet concert relay, will also be among the Gold Circle guests. Money raised from corporate packages will fund the staging of the London concert and the simultaneous shows for Africa held across the world.

Clear Channel, the company staging the Hyde Park concert, has offered the packages to block hospitality companies profiting from the event through corporate deals involving touted tickets. It is taking no profit from the deals.

The Gold Circle, an increasingly common feature at rock concerts, may be renamed at Live 8 to avoid provoking the ire of standard-class ticket-holders. Bob Geldof does not want television viewers to see a reserved area packed with what an associate called “the quail’s eggs and champagne brigade”.

The Live 8 driving force wants VIP tickets to be made more widely available. Some will go to supporters of the Make Poverty History campaign for Africa debt relief.

Further privileged view tickets will be offered to ordinary fans in competitions run via the official Live 8 website and newspapers. Giant screens situated through the Park will provide the best view of events onstage for those at the back of the venue.

Sources said that an additional zero could have been placed on the price of the limited-number packages given the demand for the concert and the cost of a Central London hotel. Last year Red Hot Chili Peppers sold £140 Gold Circle tickets, including a Pimms reception, barbecue and reserved seating, for their Hyde Park concerts. Two nights accommodation and a Gold Circle Live 8 ticket costs £349 per person at the Marriot Maida Vale or £389 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel.

Ticket-holders will have access to a Gold Circle hospitality area inside the Hyde Park site.

The first packages sold out within hours of being placed on an official website yesterday. More hotels will be added as the deals are snapped up. Big companies are seeking to buy-out Park Lane hotels, regardless of expense, for the ultimate Live 8 hospitality package.

While the British artists are performing free, there are significant costs attached to staging the Live 8 shows in Paris, Rome and Philadelphia. It will cost about £1 million to build a stage and secure concert environment for the Berlin concert at the Brandenburg Gate starring Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.

When lines close on Sunday midnight, a computer will randomly select 66,500 winners to receive a pair of tickets from those who correctly answered the Live 8 question. But the volume of text entries has slowed since Monday and organisers require additional funding to cover costs. The Prince’s Trust has been promised £1.6 million from the texting profits as compensation for handing over its Party in the Park festival to Live 8.

Organisers said that the concert could not take place without help from sponsors such as O2 and Sir Richard Branson, who is providing air travel to shuttle artists between venues. A spokesman said: “There has to be VIP packages to pay for the show.”

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