<p><br /> Thousands of tickets for open-air Masses during Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Britain this week are yet to be sold just days before he is due to arrive.<br /> </p><p><br /> The Pope starts his visit in Scotland on Thursday. The largest organised event is an open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow on the opening day of his four-day trip to the UK.<br /> </p><p><br /> The capacity has been reduced to 80,000 after a slow take-up of tickets.<br /> </p><p><br /> Dioceses in England and Wales have also reported thousands of unfilled places for a London vigil in Hyde Park on Saturday and the service to beatify Cardinal Newman in Birmingham on Sunday.<br /> </p><p><br /> Officials have blamed the early start, with pilgrims having to leave home at 2am in order to board official coaches heading to the venue, rather than the cost of tickets.<br /> </p><p><br /> The Roman Catholic Church of England and Wales remains confident that the first-ever state papal visit to Britain will prove a success.<br /> </p>
