Are you ready for it?
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is kicking off in Sydney, with the first of her four concerts at Accor Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park, in a matter of hours.
After Melbourne was treated to a huge trifecta of shows, including an update to her upcoming The Tortured Poets Department album and a surprise song mash-up, we’re here waiting with bated breath.
But there’s one thing Sydney has that Melbourne didn’t.
Watch the video above.
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Her boyfriend, NFL star Travis Kelce, will be watching Swift perform her shows, after the Kansas City Chiefs player touched down in Australia yesterday.
Fans will be going wild over any and every appearance Kelce makes – and we’ll be on alert to see if he’ll be trading any friendship bracelets this time around.
Stay tuned here for all the live updates for Swift’s first Sydney show.
‘Hidden’ merchandise tent with no lines revealed
Lines for the chance to buy Swift’s merchandise from the three tents at the front of Accor Stadium have been absolutely packed, with some fans claiming it took them four hours to get to the front.
Swift fan Holly from Sydney told 9honey Celebrity’s reporter on the ground, Chantelle Bozicevic, that she had been waiting since 7am, and finally made her purchase at 12.30pm.
According to Bozicevic, however, there’s a fourth merchandise tent “hidden around the back” of the stadium with “barely any line”.
That tent opens at 3pm, Bozicevic says security told her. But as of 2.30pm, the front three tents’ lines had quietened right down.
Red Frogs have been handing out sunscreen and water to those waiting in line in the heat.
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All the stars spotted at Taylor Swift’s Australian Eras Tour shows
SES urges concertgoers to make safe and sensible decisions in severe weather
NSW State Emergency Service (SES) has urged those going to Sydney Olympic Park tonight to make safe and sensible decisions in the forecasted severe weather.
“We may see some very poor weather this afternoon and evening across parts of Sydney, Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Illawarra, parts of the South Coast and eastern parts of the Southern Tablelands,” Chief Superintendent Burnes said.
“The weather expected may make things like travelling hazardous, with high end heavy rain and flash flooding a possibility.
“We are working very closely with the Bureau of Meteorology to monitor the situation and will provide further warnings and updates to the community as required.”
NSW SES has increased its rostered staff, incident management personnel and volunteers ahead of Swift and Blink-182’s concerts tonight.
“The NSW SES is well prepared to provide assistance and respond to any damage these storms cause. We’re preparing for an increase in incidents due to the expected heavy rainfall,” he said.
He recommended installing the Hazards Near Me app, visit bom.gov.au or ses.nsw.gov.au for the latest weather advice, call NSW SES on 13 25 00 for emergency help in floods and storms, and in life threatening situations, call 000 immediately.
2GB prize phone line melts down during giveaway
Radio host Ben Fordham put out the call to listeners to give the prize line a ring this morning for a chance to win tickets, but the sheer volume of callers caused a meltdown for their phone line.
“The prize line has died, the prize line is no longer working,” the Fordham said.
Ben Fordham Live! Content Director Luke Davis said the sheer volume of calls was “absolutely extraordinary”.
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” Davis told Fordham.
More tickets will be available throughout the day, fans just need to tune in 2GB radio and call in when they are prompted.
READ MORE: Why Taylor Swift fans are being urged to wear earplugs to her concerts
What time does Taylor Swift’s Sydney concert start?
Before she stepped onto the MCG’s stage last Friday, it was widely believed that Taylor Swift would start her set at 8pm.
She actually started her show at 7.30pm, which caught a slew of fans unaware while they were lining up for the bathroom, forcing them to rush through the stadium in a panic to get to their seats in time.
Accor Stadium’s gates open at 4.30pm – there have actually been fans lining up outside the stadium to buy merch since this morning – and Sabrina Carpenter, Swift’s opening act, is expected to start her portion of the show at 6.20pm.
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Set times are, however, subject to change without notice, so it’s advised by Frontier Touring to get to the stadium early.
With a severe weather warning having been issued as well, this could see Swift’s start time delayed or changed for safety issues – the stage, like it was for 10 minutes before her first Nashville show, might need to be squeegeed, after all.
Keep an eye on Frontier Touring and Accor Stadium’s websites and social media pages for updates, though we’d like to emphasise once again that they have said set times could change without notice.
As it stands, Accor Stadium’s website currently reads: ”The show will play rain or shine. The only exception would be severe weather which could impact the safety of artists and patrons.”
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A taste of what to expect tonight
One TikTok user shared footage from a sound check conducted at Accor Stadium on Thursday night, and it’s safe to say that the concert tonight will be loud.
Here’s what you need to know about preventing hearing damage at the concert.
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Swifties, prepare for Uber chaos
Rideshare app Uber has issued a warning for Swifties wanting to order an Uber to Accor Stadium before and after Taylor’s Sydney shows.
Almost 15,000 Uber trips were facilitated to and from the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) over the weekend, and the company expects Sydney to be even bigger.
Dom Taylor, Uber spokesperson, said in a statement: “With almost 5000 rides per show in Melbourne, Uber driver-partners have helped hundreds of thousands of fans ‘Get Ready For It’ and experience the Taylor Swift phenomenon.
“We’re expecting that number to double as Taylor takes the stage in Sydney later this week.”
Around 300,000 Swifties are expected to descend upon Accor Stadium for the four nights between February 23 to 26.
Last-minute ticket grab for desperate Sydney fans
A little over 24 hours before Taylor Swift takes the stage in Sydney, Frontier Touring announced it was selling last-minute tickets to all four of her remaining shows Down Under.
Fans were quick to flood the comment section with messages about quick-fire sale, with some urging Sydney Swifties to try their luck.
READ MORE: How Sydney Taylor Swift fan’s $160 ticket blew out to $1500
“Good luck Sydney peeps. 16:00 this day a week ago I got 2x tickets for one of the #MelbourneTSTheErasTour Total cost was $140 and our kids got lifelong memories. Got to be in it to win it! Go for it!,” one wrote.
“You better let me in today!!!” another joked.
Frontier has also confirmed physical tickets were available for this drop. An hour later, though, the ticket sale was exhausted.
However, Frontier gave us all another small ray of hope by revealing extra ticket drops may occur throughout the rest of the shows for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
“Please note, as mentioned in the post, late production releases may occur across show days. The best place to check this is the Ticketek website,” Frontier said in a statement on X.
Remember the stadium rules
About 400,000 people are expected to flock to Sydney Olympic Park from Friday until Monday, with Blink 182 also performing. And there are some important rules we need to follow.
Bags need to be the size of an A4 sheet of paper, you can’t bring in video cameras or equipment and phone chargers can’t be bigger than the phone itself.
The best friendship bracelets made by Taylor Swift’s fans
No outside food or beverages will be allowed inside the venue. However you will be permitted to bring an empty, soft plastic water bottle no bigger than 600ml.
You can find a full list of all the rules here.
Weather warning for Friday’s show
Swift fans heading to Accor Stadium for the first Sydney Eras Tour concert have been issued a weather warning.
Severe thunderstorms and rain are set to hit during Swift’s three-hour show. “Severe thunderstorms are likely across eastern #NSW on Friday with damaging winds, large hail and heavy rainfall,” BoM said on X (formerly Twitter).
Although a rainy performance might not be ideal, Swift has previously revealed she enjoys a rain-soaked show and rarely ever cancels, especially over a bit of wet weather.
Plus, it gives you a great excuse to whip out your bedazzled poncho for the evening.
Here’s how to bejewel your poncho.
Taylor and Travis’ romantic zoo date
Taylor Swift is such a fan of Aussie animals that she made a surprise visit to Sydney zoo in the city’s west – not once, but twice.
The Lavender Haze singer was photographed enjoying the zoo and cuddling up to a koala on Wednesday, and she returned to Sydney Zoo on Thursday with her NFL star beau Travis Kelce in tow.
The couple walked hand-in-hand around the site during a private after-hours tour, where they met the koalas and fed kangaroos.
See the full story here.
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How to access your tickets for Taylor Swift’s Sydney shows
There is one thing Sydney ticketholders must do as soon as possible to ensure easy entry, a spokesperson for Ticketek warns.
“The most important message is to make sure that fans download the Ticketek app and add their ticket to their Google or Apple Wallet ASAP,” the Ticketek spokesperson urges.
Click here for everything you need to know about how to access your Taylor Swift tickets.