KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Former US president Bill Clinton's global appeal has forced the organiser of the BC Sekhar Memorial Lecture on Dec 6 to look for a bigger venue.

Initially, the Sekhar Foundation had planned for a venue of 500 seats but requests to attend Clinton's inaugural lecture have reached 8,000.

Foundation founder Datuk Vinod Sekhar said in a statement yesterday that a ballot for seats would be conducted in the next few days with everyone given an equal chance to attend the event.

He said the demand for places was unprecedented but promised that places would be given to as many members of the public as possible.

"I am determined that as many people as possible will get the chance to see Clinton in person. The requests for places at the lecture underline his global popularity and I am just so sorry that it will be impossible to accommodate everyone," he added.

Vinod said Clinton would be receiving the BC Sekhar Medal for transformational leadership.

"The new award will be given annually to global leaders who have demonstrated a track record in bringing about positive change to the lives of millions of people," he said.