More than 1,000 tickets for hit musical We Will Rock You were snapped up by Bristol fans yesterday.

A small queue formed outside the Bristol Hippodrome's box office from 8.45am – more than an hour before it opened – but many sales were online and over the phones.

By 2pm, more than 700 tickets had been bought, in addition to the 3,000 previously sold to LiveNation card holders and Bristol Evening Post readers, and the 13,500 tickets that have already been reserved.

Gary Roden, the Hippodrome's general manager, said the rate at which tickets had been bought was astonishing.

He said: "Yesterday was the first time tickets went on sale to the general public, so we were expecting huge demand at both the box office, online and over the phones.

"We are expecting the sales and interest to be similar to that for Mamma Mia."

At the front of the queue by the box office was Lesley Cahill, 51, a records clerk from Southville, who was buying tickets for herself and her husband and five for friends.

She said: "It is a lovely feeling to finally get my hands on them, and I will be keeping them very safe until next year.

"We saw it about four years ago and I have always looked out to see if it was going to come to Bristol.

"It is a fantastic show, so it is nice to be able to come to see it in our home city."

We Will Rock You will be in Bristol from September 16 to October 31 next year. About 100,000 people are expected to see it over the 53-show run. Tickets cost between £21 and £40, with some concessions. To book, call 0844 847 2325.