The wait was finally over for tens of thousands of Take That fans today as the band’s Progress Live 2011 tour rolled into Villa Park.

Around 100,000 people are set to see the record-breaking gigs tonight and tomorrow, which see Robbie Williams reunite with the group for the first time in 15 years.

Die-hard fans started queuing to get the best spots in the unreserved section at 4pm yesterday. First-in-line were sisters Sandie and Coleen Duggan from Burton Avenue in Rushall, Walsall.

They brought two sleeping bags, chairs, crisps, biscuits and chicken baps for last night’s dinner.  Mrs Duggan, aged 32, who has a tattoo of the band’s logo on her arm, said:

“We’re waiting now because we need to make sure we’re next to those barriers.

“I went on the day to the Manchester gig two weeks ago and we were nowhere near the front. Camping out is all part of the experience. I’d planned to do it as soon as I bought the ticket. I haven’t been able to sleep I’m so excited.”

* Are you going to watch Take That at Villa Park – we want your pictures.

Whether it’s pictures of the band or of you and your mates enjoying the gig we ant to hear from you.

Email us your pictures to: picturedesk@expressandstar.co.uk

The band were expected to arrive in chauffeur-driven, black Audis along with a police escort at 3.30pm today.

Gates were opening to the public at 5pm with the Pet Shop Boys taking to the stage at 7pm.

Gary, Mark, Jason and Howard will then take to the stage around 8.15pm, kicking the show off with original comeback hits including Rule The World, followed by Greatest Day, Hold Up A Light and Patience, before Robbie performs a selection of his own solo hits including Feel and Angels. The five will then finally be reunited with The Flood, and then will follow on with hits old and new such as A Million Love Songs and Everything Changes, before finishing off with Eight Letters.

Parts of the extravagant stage were also delivered over the weekend on 104 trucks.

One of them was carrying one of the shows’ highlights – a 60ft robot named Om – which was unloaded and erected within the stadium itself on Saturday.

Pubs in the area have been boosting orders and will be putting on extra staff to cope with an anticipated boom in sales.

A sign has been put up outside The New Aston Social Members Club, in Aston Hall Road, saying Take That Fans Welcome and offering parking for £5.

Manager Jenny Harley said they had doubled orders of spirits and draught beers and were expecting more than 800 people in the pub on both Monday and Tuesday.

Normally there are just a couple of staff behind the bar, but Mrs Harley said there would be at least 10 people working on each day. “I’m trying to get as many staff as I can get hold of,” she said.

Meanwhile, residents in the area were also bracing themselves for problems with noise, traffic and litter. Organisers have said a  residents-only parking scheme is being enforced on streets within a two-kilometre radius around the stadium.

Albion fan Darren Walton, from Bridgnorth in Shropshire, owns mobile coffee business Cafe Roma and will be one of numerous people selling refreshments outside the ground.  He expects to sell 1,000 cups of coffee on each day.  “It will depend on how hot it is,” he said.  “If it’s warm then we’ll do well to sell about half that. We do iced coffees but they’re not as popular.”

London-based Show & Event Security, which has overseen royal visits and music events such as V Festival, will be in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly,

Police and council leaders have already warned the shows are likely to cause traffic hell for motorists in the region – and advised anyone not headed to the stadium to steer clear until Wednesday morning.  Extra police and traffic officials have been drafted in to help keep order in the masses as congestion is likely to extend for miles.

Motorists can expect to face queues stretching from the stadium to the A38 Aston Expressway, the A34 and the M6 around Spaghetti Junction and Great Barr.

Trains will run every few minutes until midnight, instead of finishing before 11.30pm, while additional bus services will run for up to an hour after the normal last bus time.

Fifteen car parks in the surrounding area ranging from £5 to £10 per car will be open on the night, as well as

Witton Lane and Trinity Road will be shut-off to traffic both today and Tuesday, reopening at around midnight when the crowds have cleared.

The tour, with a budget of around £15million, includes a stage filled with a glass chariot and a wall of water.