Taylor Swift fans flock from South Australia to Melbourne for her The Eras tour concerts
The pilgrimage of South Aussies to Melbourne to see Taylor Swift is in full swing, with people pouring across the border to see her – some of whom you’d never expect.
Entertainment
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Taylor Swift was the name on everyone’s lips at Adelaide Airport on Friday as hundreds of Swifties prepared to make the trip to Melbourne for the pop icon’s first Australian show since 2018.
After missing out on tickets during a netball match, Poppy Letcher’s mum saved the day, scoring three tickets for Poppy and her friends.
“We had netball so on the bus we had our laptops open and then at netball we were playing and [our laptops] were on the side of the court and whoever was off was making sure it didn’t go to sleep,” the 17-year-old said.
“Our coach was so angry at us because we were only a goal up at quarter time and then it sold out and we won by 40 and she was like clearly you started paying more attention.
“But then my mum was coming home from work that night and was like ‘you didn’t end up getting tickets did you, I’m going to try,’ and I was like ‘what makes you think you’re gonna be able to do it,’ but then I got a call five minutes later saying ‘I just got three tickets on the side of the road’.”
Poppy and her friends Abby Kennedy, 18, and Lexie Intveld, 18, snagged B-Reserve tickets for $600 each with their 24-hour trip costing around $1200 each.
Luckily they were able to save on flight costs thanks to a relative’s flight points and booking a hotel “three days before tickets went on sale”.
For the three girls, the price was worth it to see Taylor who had been “like a staple growing up” take the stage.
“The atmosphere will be amazing, like being there, yeah I might cry,” they said.
The Screaming Jets frontman Dave Gleeson, who also made the trip to Melbourne on Friday, won’t be attending any of Taylor’s shows but wore an ‘I love Taylor Swift’ shirt to show his support.
“I got this shirt ‘cause we decided we’re gonna be part of the whole Tay-Tay revolution,” he said.
“We’ve got our own shows but we’ll certainly be supporting Taylor in any way we can.”
Gleeson has been a long-time Swiftie thanks to his daughter and described himself as Taylor’s “oldest, straight male fan”.
“I think she’s a great songwriter and I’ve got a daughter and when she was at that impressionable age, I just thought I’d rather her be into Taylor Swift than [some other artists],” he said.
“So I learnt the songs by osmosis by listening to the songs in the car with the kids. ‘We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together’ is probably my favourite and she seems like a good chick.”
He also hinted at the possibility of sneaking a few Taylor songs into the band’s upcoming shows.
“We might, we’ll see how we go and see what the crowd thinks tonight of it all,” he said.
“People may not get the irony slash love affair we have with her.”
Bakery Manager Gabriella Morris, 27, from Balaklava has been a Swiftie since she was 10 years old and also scored tickets to Friday night’s show.
“It was nerve racking, I was on Marketplace for a bit because I couldn’t get tickets with Ticketek originally so I didn’t get any tickets in any of the drops,” she said.
“I think there’s a lot of bots so once the tickets come out of the bot’s cart, somebody would grab them somehow so I just kept spamming it and they ended up in my cart.
“I started freaking out and hyperventilating like ‘oh my god, what’s going on?’”.
Ms Morris, who is attending with friends, paid around $600 all-together for her floor tickets and felt fortunate to be able to attend.
“I feel extremely lucky that I get to go and experience it, especially as I understand not a lot of people were able to afford it or go,” she said.
“I’m excited to finally get to be there and see it and scream all the songs.
I love Taylor’s eras and all her songs. I love Reputation at the moment so I’m looking forward to it.”
The Voice stars Ella & Sienna performed a surprise ‘Taylor Swift party’ at the airport on Friday morning for Swifites travelling to this weekend’s concerts.
The sister-duo, who are also Swifties, treated fans to their ‘Reputation: The Ultimate Taylor Swift Show’ which is a “big celebration of Taylor’s music,” said 21-year old Ella.
“Our band plays everything from all her eras, including mashups, medleys and it’s a party from start to finish,” says 21-year-old Ella.
“We have the full outfits and as well as playing all the hits, we take inspiration from her live performances and intros from stadium tours and ceremonies like the Grammys.”
On Thursday, hundreds of Swifties made the trip to Melbourne by air and rail to see the beloved pop icon kick off the Australian-leg of her world tour on Friday and Saturday.
With reserve tickets ranging from $65 to $379, diehard fans were more than willing to splash as much cash as needed to see the American pop star.
The most expensive VIP tickets went for an eye-watering $1249 with front row seats and exclusive merchandise on arrival for those lucky few.
Two of these top-line tickets went to Fidelma Hopkins, 40, and her daughter Sibeal, 15, whose trip costs were “getting towards $5000”.
Swift touched down in Melbourne on Thursday morning with many fans braving the cold to catch a glimpse of her stepping foot on the runway.
She will perform in 100 countries for the Eras Tour, which has become the first concert tour in history to crack USD$1 billion in gross sales.
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