A very lucky number of Van Morrison fans have won the chance to see the celebrated performer returning to his favourite venue, the Forum Theatre.

The theatre has been hired out on Monday by concert organisers BBC Radio 2, which gave away all the small number of tickets to listeners through an on-air and on-line competition.

Staff at the Malvern Theatres have been swamped with enquiries about the concert and have had to turn away very disappointed Van Morrison followers wishing to buy tickets for the exclusive event.

BBC spokesman Lewis Carnie said: "Radio 2 is keen to get our programming out and about across the country, but it isn't always easy with major artists to perform 'live and exclusive' concerts for the network.

"In this case, however, the Forum Theatre in Malvern happens to be Van Morrison's favourite venue. We gave away 650 tickets and received 12,000 entries."

The concert is one of a series of performances, described by Mr Carnie as "presenting major, frequently iconic artists in a small performance space". Other artists featured in the programme include Elton John, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, David Gray, Shania Twain and Paul Weller.

"We are delighted to add Van Morrison to the list, he is a truly remarkable songwriter and performer and a core Radio 2 artist, whose work we feature virtually every day," added Mr Carnie.

For those fans not lucky enough to win tickets to the event, the concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on December 13 at 9pm.