Taylor Swift lands in Melbourne ahead of her Australian concerts as part of the Eras Tour
Taylor Swift has landed in Melbourne to start the highly anticipated Australian leg of her popular Eras Tour.
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Taylor Swift has landed in Melbourne to start the Australian leg of her Eras Tour.
Swift’s flight, originating in Honolulu, Hawaii and designated VJT993, touched down at 12.50am, local time.
The pop star travelled in a Bombardier Global 6000, a luxurious private jet with a maximum range of 6000 nautical miles, and a capacity of just 17 passengers.
Swift has about two days to get over her jet lag before taking the stage for her first concert in Australia since 2018.
Swift’s travel schedule is hectic enough at the best of times, but has been particularly frantic in the last week, with her rushing back to the United States from Tokyo over the weekend to watch her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, play in the Super Bowl.
Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in overtime, claiming back-to-back titles, while Swift and her star-studded crew watched from the stands.
While she was only rarely shown on screen, Swift’s presence at the game contributed to its draw and resulted in the largest audience for a televised sporting event in American history, with more than 123 million people tuning in.
Having shunned the cameras to an extent throughout the playoffs, Swift embraced them in Las Vegas, necking a full cup of beer while the crowd (mostly) cheered, then slamming it down in front of her.
When the game ended, Swift rushed onto the field and kissed Kelce in front of the cameras – giving their whirlwind romance the season-ending pinnacle for which her fans had hoped.
Kelce first hugged his mother, Donna, before turning to Swift and saying, “Come here, girl.” Then the kiss happened, sparking a mandatory internet meltdown.
Swift could be heard telling Kelce the game was “unbelievable” and “the craziest thing” she had “ever experienced”.
There was also a degree of bemusement afterwards as Kelce, clearly overwhelmed with excitement, took the microphone to celebrate with his teammates, belting out Viva Las Vegas and Fight For Your Right (To Party!) while she watched on.
Some viewers felt Kelce’s passionate moment had given Swift “the ick”, while others thought she was holding back joyful tears. Either way, it was certainly a moment to remember.
Swift was only back in the US for a few days before she embarked on her trip to Australia, where thousands of fans will crowd into the Melbourne Cricket Ground from February 16 to 18. Then she’ll perform at Sydney’s Accor Stadium from February 23 to 26.
Her tour is expected to inject hundreds of millions of dollars into the Australian economy, with more than 600,000 tickets sold.
Later, during a post-game press conference, Kelce said the couple were “on top of the world right now” and the status of their relationship was “a good feeling”.
Before her shows in Japan, at the Grammy Awards earlier this month, Swift became the first person to ever win Album of the Year four times.
In March, after her seven concerts in Australia, she will travel to Singapore, before powering through a string of about four dozen shows across Europe.
Sources close to Kelce have told People Magazine he is ready to support Swift on tour the same way she supported him during the NFL season.
“Football is everything to him. He lives and breathes it. But he’s ready for some downtime now and to show up for Taylor the way she has for him,” one source said.
“The attention on them is definitely a lot, but Travis has done a great job deflecting and focusing on what’s important.
“They are making plans for the (northern hemisphere) summer and are excited to travel together in Europe when Taylor takes her tour there.”
– with NCA NewsWire
Originally published as Taylor Swift lands in Melbourne ahead of her Australian concerts as part of the Eras Tour