Large sets of generating tuples for Lie groups

We prove that for a connected, semisimple linear Lie group $G$ the spaces of generating pairs of elements or subgroups are well-behaved in a number of ways: the set of pairs of elements generating a dense subgroup is Zariski-open in the compact case, Euclidean-open in general, and always dense. Similarly, for sufficiently generic circle subgroups $H_i$, $i=1,2$ of $G$, the space of conjugates of $H_i$ that generate a dense subgroup is always Zariski-open and dense. Similar statements hold for pairs of Lie subalgebras of the Lie algebra $Lie(G)$.