Preparations begin for the Spice Girls concert

Groups of Spice Girls fans from around the globe have set off early in the hopes to be at the front of the stage to see them perform at the Stadium of Light.

Armed with their bags and jackets, they have set up camp for the day outside the stadium to get the best view and maybe a sneak peak of the Spice Girls arriving.

The first to stand in line at around 8.am were couple Ramon Rodriguez, 34, and Lorena Juan Pinazo, 32, who flew from Malaga, Spain to Newcastle Airport.

Around one hour later, Eduardo Leroy, 33, and his partner Alejandro Misailidis, 37, from Brazil, arrived with a relative and a woman they had met on their journey to the stadium.

Maeva Antoine, 28, from France, arrived soon after with her mother. They arrived in the UK at the end of May and have already seen the Spice Girls on their Spice World tour in Manchester and Coventry.

They are planning to see nine of the shows in total as Maeva believes they are all different. She said: “It’s not at the same place and there is always surprises. In Manchester when it was the Champions League final, at the end they came with the shirts on and there was a proposal in Manchester.”

Maeva doesn’t know what to expect from the Sunderland show but she is excited particularly for the song Say You’ll Be There. She said: “I hope it’s not raining. Anything else I’ll take.”

While fans have been queueing, final work has been taking place to build merchandise stands outside of the stadium and barriers to create organised queues at the designated gates.

If you are attending the event be sure to organise your travel, check what you can and cannot take and make sure you check your tickets which will tell you which entrance to use.

And if you're wanting to Spice Up Your Life then don't miss out on the last-minute tickets available for tonight's extravaganza.

Read more: Spice Girls at the Stadium of Light: Getting there by car, bus and Metro

Ticketmaster has tickets available from £77 for tonight's show.