Streisand's 'expensive' tickets sell out in 20 minutes

The music legend has now added a second date at London's O2 arena.

Scroll down for more

Streisand drew criticism over the price of the tickets as the cheapest seats at the venue, formerly known as the Millennium Dome, cost £100, whilst the most expensive are £500.

However, fans still raced to snap them up when they went on sale at 9am today.

They are already being advertised on online auction site eBay with one seller asking £2,499 for a pair, with the message: "Tickets for this show are like gold dust."

The original O2 gig on July 18 will now be followed by another on July 22.

Streisand is also playing Castletown House in Dublin on July 14, plus dates in Vienna, Paris and Nice, for her European tour.

The ticket prices may be high, but Oscar-winner Streisand has insisted she is grounded and down to earth.

Despite admitting her favourite pastime is shopping and that she has an assistant to do it for her, Streisand denied the accusation she was a diva.

"I am a home-town girl. I am from the projects.

We grew up very poor in Brooklyn," she said.

"Five of us slept in a little apartment, I slept in the living room until I was 13 on a day bed that made up to a bed at night and during the day it was a couch.

"I grew up poor. My doll was a hot water bottle, I didn't have dolls."

Streisand, who has sold 71 million albums in the US alone, added: "I am very happy about my circumstances growing up, I think that makes you appreciate life, you are never given anything you haven't worked for and there is so much wonder and appreciation for things because you didn't get them before."

The 65-year-old said she finally conquered stage fright which had kept her from performing for 27 years when she toured the US last year.

"If I did not have stage fright I would have performed much more in my career," she added.

"I just never liked it. My heart pounds, I get palpitations - very, very uncomfortable and hard to sing. Fear takes over me. I do not even like to get up at a birthday party of my own and talk.

"But when you get older it is like trying to do everything you have missed in your life and - except for England - I have never performed in Europe.

"I love England, I am very at home there, I must have lived there before in a former life."