British pop singer Robbie Williams will make his live concert debut on the Chinese mainland at the Shanghai Hongkou Football Stadium on November 4. 　　

Shanghai is the superstar's only stop on the Chinese mainland for his Close Encounters World Tour 2006. After Shanghai, Williams will make just four other stops in Asia - in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore. 　　

Tickets, from 180 yuan (US$22) to 1,580 yuan, will officially go on sale on September 14, according to China West Entertainment, one of the concert's organizers. 　　

However, some major local box offices are already open for advance bookings. Advance tickets will also be available at www.robbiewilliams.com from September 7. 　　

Shanghai music critic Sun Mengjin said he caught Williams's new tour in Germany and Austria, where the singer performed to packed houses of up to 90,000. 　　

Sun said Williams was not as popular in China as in Europe and predicted much of the audience in the 30,000-capacity Hongkou Stadium will be foreigners. 　

Tickets for Williams's show at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center on November 10 are already sold out.

(CRI September 7, 2006)