HUGE crowds are expected at Cribbs Causeway as Olympic medallist Tom Daley visits Bristol to sign copies of his autobiography.
The diver – who won a Bronze medal in London last week – will be in the WHSmith store at The Mall tomorrow.
The 18-year-old's book My Story charts his diving background and success, the attention he has received since competing at the Beijing Olympics and the loss of his father Rob to cancer last year.
The Plymouth teenager will be at the store from 11.30am but due to his popularity people are being encouraged to arrive early as he will only be available for a limited amount of time. When glamour model Katie Price signed copies of her book Sapphire at the store three years ago thousands of people turned up to see her and the Mall and WHSmith are making preparations for hundreds more tomorrow.
Commercial director at The Mall Cribbs Causeway, Jon Edwards, said they were anticipating somewhere in the region of 500 to 1,000 but would have a better idea after a book-signing at the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent today.
A spokeswoman for WHSmith said: "Given Tom's popularity and the interest so far being unprecedented. We anticipate this event to be hugely popular with Tom's fans
"We have advised customers not to arrive before 8am as there will not be any provisions or staff available at this time however we are working closely with the centre and our own security teams and monitoring the interest online and in store."
She said the aim was for as many customers as possible to have their book signed by Tom.
"We are absolutely delighted to have Olympic medal winner, Tom Daley in our Bristol Cribbs Causeway store particularly so soon after the Olympics and we are really looking forward to it being a wonderful day for everyone," the spokeswoman said.
Mr Edwards said: "The key issues for us will be queue management, safety and public order and we take advice from our on-site police team and security here to make sure the event goes smoothly.
"We are really excited that he is taking the time and trouble to come here."
Tom started diving at the age of seven and made his competitive debut in 2004, becoming the youngest ever under 18 champion. He was given special dispensation to compete at the Youth Olympics in 2007 where he won a silver medal, before competing in the Beijing Olympics the following year.
In 2009 he became the youngest ever British world champion.
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