MikeLigalig.com

BBC News

Thousands of tickets remain unsold for events during the visit of the Pope, who arrives in Scotland on Thursday.

The largest organised event is an open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow on the opening day of Pope Benedict XVI's trip to the UK.

The capacity has been reduced to 80,000 after a slow take-up of tickets.

Dioceses in England and Wales have also reported thousands of unfilled places for a London vigil and the service to beatify Cardinal Newman in Birmingham.

Jack Valero, who is co-ordinating the beatification of 19th Century English cardinal John Henry Newman in Cofton Park on Sunday, said: "It is still not as many as expected, although it's pretty full."