SINGAPORE - Thousands of fans turned up early on Monday (April 16) for a chance to attend the Avengers: Infinity War red carpet event later at night, with some of Hollywood's biggest names set to be in attendance.

Queues formed outside the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Expo and Convention Centre's Hall B before doors opened for registration at 7am.

Just before noon, organisers handed out the last of 4,000 available wristbands that grant access to the event to business student Thet Nyun Eain, 18.

The student from Myanmar, who has an accounting exam at 2pm, is unlike most fans who were there for the marquee actors.

“I hope to meet director Joe Russo and tell him how much I love his work, especially Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War,” she said.

While the event is free and open to the public, fans are required to register in person for a non-transferable wristband to gain access, due to venue capacity limitations. Registration will be on a first come, first served basis.

Those holding red wristbands will be given access to the event between 5pm and 6pm, and others with green wristbands will be able to enter the venue between 6pm and 7pm.

Queue at Avengers: Infinity War event at MBS

These fans will be able to meet some of the main cast members of the highly anticipated superhero movie.

The stars include Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Karen Gillan (Nebula), and Russo.

Technician Jason Foo, 31, who joined the queue at about 7.10am, said that he had specially taken a day off from work for a shot at attending his first red carpet event, where he hopes to meet the cast of his favourite childhood animated series up close.



Iron Man fan Jason Foo posing with a replica of the Infinity Gauntlet. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG



"I've been a fan of the cartoon series since I was a kid in the 1990s. And to be able to get the chance to meet the cast in person would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's almost like a dream come true," said Mr Foo, who counts Iron Man and Spider-Man as his personal favourites.

He added that he woke up at 4.30am to get ready and travel from his home in Chua Chu Kang to MBS, but was shocked to find over 1,000 people there when he arrived at 7am.

"I don't mind the long wait. I am just worried about the wristbands. If I manage to get registered, it will be all worth it," Mr Foo said.

For Ms Thet Nyun Eain, the film that kicked it all off for her was the first Iron Man movie that came out in 2008, when she was just eight years old, and big Hollywood films rarely made it to her home country of Myanmar.



“I hope to meet director Joe Russo and tell him how much I love his work, especially Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War,” said Thet Nyun Eain. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG



“The film inspired me to be who I want to be," she said.

By 10.30am, queues were still seen snaking in the convention hall, albeit in an orderly manner.

This was in contrast to when the doors first opened and there was pushing and shoving by eager fans to get in.

“At one point I was pressed up against the wall,” said 17-year-old student Nur Eryna Kherman, who started queueing at 7am with her friends.



From left: Nurul Basyirah, Fenellie Keogh, and Nur Eryna Bte Kherman, who started queueing at 7am. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG



But once she made it into the hall, the queues were organised and it took them about two hours to register for wristbands.

Those who registered received a goodie bag with a foam gauntlet and poncho. An SMS will also be sent from 4pm reminding them about entry time to the event plaza.

Ms Eryna, who is a Benedict Cumberbatch fan, said: “I’m happy that I’m going to see them face to face and not on the screen.

“They’re not just a character in a movie anymore, it’ll be a different experience seeing them in the flesh.”

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Mr Tommy Dharmawan, 29, flew in from Jakarta the moment the event was announced last month.

Sporting a Guardians of the Galaxy T-shirt, he arrived at 6.30am and spent around two hours in the queue to collect his wristband.

Mr Dharmawan, who will be spending the next few hours waiting around MBS, hopes to meet Karen Gillan who plays Nebula at the fan event.

He feels “she will help the Avengers in this upcoming film”, even though she is portrayed as a villain.

The outlet manager, who has watched all the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), is also excited about Marvel parent company Walt Disney’s acquisition of a majority of 21st Century Fox’s assets in December last year.

“That way the X-Men can join the MCU, just like in the comic books.”