Taylor Swift has arrived at the MCG in Melbourne to kick off the very first show in her hotly-anticipated Eras tour Down Under.
The global megastar, 34, was seen being chauffeured FBI-style to the stadium on Friday afternoon.
A cavalcade of blackout Land Rovers were seen driving down Brunton Ave and into the underground carpark of the venue, with one carrying the Shake It Off star.
Meanwhile, thousands of the popstar’s fans swarmed the arena two hours before the show’s start time of 6.30pm in an attempt to avoid the long lines to get in.
Several excited attendees were dressed in the theme of each of Taylor’s ‘Eras’.
Taylor Swift has arrived at the MCG in Melbourne to kick off the very first show in her hotly-anticipated Eras tour Down Under
The global megastar, 34, was seen being chauffeured FBI-style to the stadium on Friday afternoon
Meanwhile, thousands of the popstar’s fans swarmed the arena two hours before the show’s start time of 6.30pm in an attempt to avoid the long lines to get in
Several women were dressed in the theme of each of Taylor’s ‘Eras’
Fans typically pick their favourite album and dress according to that ‘era’ and colour – be it with the classic Fearless cowboy boots or the Folklore cottage core dresses.
Taylor mania began when she touched down in Melbourne early Thursday morning at approximately 12.40am and was greeted by a legion of die-hard Swifties.
The Cruel Summer singer travelled in style on board a Bombardier Global 6000, a luxurious private jet that can carry up to 17 passengers.
Taylor mania began when she touched down in Melbourne early Thursday morning at approximately 12.40am and was greeted by a legion of die-hard Swifties
Taylor was promptly escorted to her accommodation after her 12 hour flight where she will rest until she takes to the stage in front of 85,000 screaming fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.
The performance will kick off the first of Taylor’s seven sold out shows in Australia.
Taylor’s flight (VJT993) from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Melbourne became the globe’s most-tracked flight with almost 1,500 of her eager fans watching its trek across the Pacific.
The singer will have less than two days to get over her jet lag before she will storm the stage for her first Australian show since 2018.
The Cruel Summer singer travelled in style on board a Bombardier Global 6000, a luxurious private jet that can carry up to 17 passengers
Taylor – who is dating Kansas Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce – completely missed out on Valentine’s Day due to her travels, being airborne for the entire romantic day.
She took off in Hawaii at 4.52pm local time on February 13, and didn’t land until the early hours on February 15 AEDT due to the 21-hour time difference, meaning she missed the big day.
But she had just spent a few days with her boyfriend Travis in Los Angeles as she celebrated with him after he won the NFL Super Bowl, before jetting off Down Under.
Excitement is already building for her Australian Eras tour as thousands of Swifties are ready to crowd into the Melbourne Cricket Ground from February 16 to 18 and the Accor Stadium in Sydney from February 23 to 26 for her shows.
More than 600,000 tickets have been sold for her performances, and some fans are going to the desperate measure of chartering their own flights to get to her shows, according to travel agency Flight Centre.
Taylor was greeted by Swifties wrapped in blankets
Her flight (VJT993) from Honolulu, Hawaii , to Melbourne became the globe’s most-tracked flight with almost 1,500 of her eager fans watching its trek across the Pacific
‘Commercial flights and accommodation are at a premium and we’ve even seen some travellers opting for a private charter flight to get to the concert as a result,’ Flight Centre Travel Group global leisure CEO James Kavanagh told news.com.au.
‘While it may seem extreme, we’re not surprised to see people opting for private flights through our charter aircraft company AVMIN and we’ve had bookings for both Taylor’s Sydney and Melbourne shows.’
Flight Centre have revealed commercial flights from Brisbane to Melbourne cost approximately $569 for the February 16 show. The following week, the same route drops dramatically to $118.
Organisers of the tour are also concerned about the 15,000 fans who are estimated to arrive at the pop star’s sold-out shows despite not having tickets.
Venues NSW has warned ticketless fanatics to stay away from Accor Stadium to prevent crowd management issues, The Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday.
A spokesperson said fans who missed out on tickets should not try to ‘soak up the atmosphere’ outside, as they likely won’t hear any songs anyway.
Meanwhile, Transport NSW coordinator-general Howard Collins said the city was ‘preparing for the inevitable’.
Taylor – who is dating Kansas Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce – missed out on Valentine’s Day due to her travels, but has just celebrated Travis’ Super Bowl win with him in LA
Taylor will have just two days to get over her jet lag before she will storm the stage for her first Australian show since 2018
‘What we found with other popular music venues where people can’t get tickets, people do just turn up to sort of soak up the atmosphere, and you can’t stop them other than to manage crowds,’ he said.
‘We are not encouraging ticketless fans to attend, but part of our contingency plan is allowing for extra people who may be travelling who haven’t got tickets.’
But despite warnings from the NSW government, businesses are said to be rolling out the welcome mat for all of Taylor’s fans regardless of whether they have tickets.
Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou said: ‘Irrespective of their ticket status, Sydney must put up the welcome sign for the Swifties because they will all make a contribution to our city in some way.’
Amid the Swift mayhem, a technology expert has claimed that hundreds of Taylor Swift fans will be turned away at the gates of her string of Australian shows.
On Tuesday’s Mix 106.3’s Canberra Wrapped, hosts Rod Cuddihy, Bethany Larsen, and Lewis Haskew chatted with ‘techspert’ Trevor Long, who co-hosts ‘Anatomy of a Scam’ with former Today show host Deb Knight.
He made the harrowing prediction Swifties will not get into the stadiums due to fake tickets purchased through scammers.
‘I’m really nervous that at the concerts in Sydney and Melbourne, there will be hundreds of people who turn up with the barcode, they will scan it and it says “nope”,’ the scam expert said.
Swifties have recently complained about their tickets disappearing amid a rise in scams, with accounts also reportedly being hacked.
Victoria Police even urged fans to be on the lookout for scammers if trying to source any last minute tickets for the Eras tour.
The state’s Cybercrime Squad explained how scammers are targeting eager fans with fake ticket sales on social media and gave advice on how to spot the scams.
The statement read: ‘Capitalising on demand for tickets, scammers are targeting fans with fake ticket sales through social media, often hacking accounts of individuals and then using the profiles to sell fake tickets to the victim’s friends.’
‘The scammers will advertise their tickets ‘at cost price’, with a story behind why they can no longer attend.’
Organisers of the tour are also concerned about the 15,000 fans who are estimated to arrive at the pop star’s sold-out shows despite not having tickets
‘Check it once, then check it twice – they may try to rush you into buying the tickets and transferring them money. As well as the ticket price, they’ll likely ask you to pay the extra fees to change the name on the ticket.
‘They will often send what they purport to be a screenshot of the email confirmation of having bought the tickets, making the scam look more legitimate.
‘Then, once you’ve transferred the money, life will lose all its meaning for the last time, and the profile will block you.’
Victoria Police said it has already received at least 250 reports of ticketing scams – totalling more than $260,000 – since the Eras Tour kicked off in June last year.
