Fans started lining up Saturday to get a chance to see Paul McCartney up close when the legendary musician performs in Quebec City's 400th anniversary celebrations Sunday.

About 200,000 fans are expected to attend the show set on the Plains of Abraham. Some fans travelled from afar to get a chance to see the former Beatles star.

One group of fans came all the way from Mexico City.

"We have been on a bus for like four of five days," one of the Mexican fans told CTV Montreal just outside the concert ground.

"We don't have anywhere to stay, so we will stay here," his friend said, pointing to the grass.

Many of McCartney's fans had some noticeably grey streaks in their hair and may remember watching the Beatles perform on the "The Ed Sullivan Show" as teenagers.

"It's all our memories because you see some of these songs by the guy who did them 40 years ago and it reminds me of when I was a much younger man," Steve from San Francisco said.

Marsha Kimmel of Montreal said that she actually saw the Beatles perform in 1965 in New York but that she couldn't actually hear the concert then because of all the screaming fans. That's why she was back.

"This is just a concert this is more like a religious experience for me, so its pretty special," Kurt Leavins of Edmonton said.

Officially, the area where the fans are waiting does not open until 5 a.m. Sunday, but organizers don't seem to mind.

While seeing McCartney is a dream come true for these fans, some Quebec nationalists were angered by the inclusion of a mega-star from Britain.

Luci Tremblay, spokesperson of Society of the 400th Anniversary told CTV Newsnet that she wasn't paying attention to the controversial surround the McCartney show.

She said there were a variety of performers, both French and British in origin, taking place in the show.

"Where you like it, or don't like it, its part of our culture," she said.

She added that the inclusion of an artist of McCartney's stature has brought "the eye of the world" on a small city like Quebec City.

With a report from Montreal's John Grant