Ticketless Taylor Swift fans warned to stay away from concert

The countdown is on for the arrival of Taylor Swift to our shores, but authorities have issued a fresh blow for ticketless fans who were hoping to at least soak up the concert atmosphere.

Disappointed and ticketless Swifties will be discouraged from flocking to the superstar’s Sydney concerts, despite new figures revealing the pop star’s fans will bring in a whopping $133 million to the city’s economy.

New Business Sydney modelling shows that positive tourism impact from Taylor Swift’s four Sydney concerts will generate at least $113 million for Sydney, with Business Sydney calling for the carpet to be rolled out for fans.

Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou said the thousands of Swifties flowing into Sydney would include those with tickets and those without — and they should be welcomed regardless of their status.

It comes as hordes of Taylor Swift fans vowed to attend the concert regardless of whether or not they have ticket.

“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,” Mr Nicolaou said. “We know that many ticketless Swifties just want to be in the same city as their superstar idol and some say they will go to Homebush to hear what they can of the performance and to feel the Taylor Swift vibe.”

Ticketless Swifties have been told to stay away from the concert venue. Picture: Getty Images

However, The Sunday Telegraph understands that Venues for NSW will discourage ticketless fans from coming to the stadium.

A venue spokesman said that only fans with a valid ticket should attend the precinct on show nights, and that fans without tickets would struggle to see or hear anything because of Accor Stadium’s design.

Mega-fan Liss Klemke is holding a market dedicated to Taylor Swift fans. Picture: Supplied

Transport for NSW co-ordinator-general Howard Collins that although they were not encouraging ticketless fans to attend, they were “preparing for the inevitable”.

Mr Collins said police and the organisers expected about 15,000 fans to hang around outside attend he stadium.

“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,” he said.

In a bid to alleviate disappointment, many unaffiliated businesses have established their own unofficial Taylor Swift events.

Sydney earring maker Liss Klemke missed out on tickets, but will still hold a market in Manly for fans to sell their Taylor Swift products.

“Taylor Swift is an amazing businesswoman, I have been really supportive of the fandom and use her as a great example of how a woman can make a place in the world,” Ms Klemke said.

Thousands of fans missed out on tickets to Swift’s Australian shows. Picture: Getty Images

She said the decision to discourage ticketless fans from soaking up the atmosphere was disappointing.

“It’s hard to think that thousands of the earrings I make will be going into the concert but I won’t be there,” she said.

“There’s already so much disappointment around not being able to get tickets because of the limited amount of dates and sites. And as we’ve seen in the (United) States, attending the concerts without tickets is common, it’s the next best thing,” she said.

“If it is a case of public safety, I can understand the decision. However there probably needs to be a compromise somewhere. The other option is to open a public area.”

Like many fans, Ms Klemke is calling for the Olympic Park precinct to be turned into a fan site where fans can gather to celebrate their idol.

“There needs to be a place people can go, like they did for the Women’s World Cup or Olympics, a public gathering place where people can go in and be policed,” she said.

A number of other businesses have also jumped onto the Taylor Train, with Sydney nightclub Home The Venue holding a number of afterparties for her Sydney concert.

Club director Sophie Kollmorgen said the after-party has been a hit.

“Tickets are flying (not quite as quickly as her actual concert … there are people who missed out on her concert tickets that jumped on the our after-party tribute show tickets and those who will come after the concert to keep the dream alive,” she said.

“It’s not affiliated with the official tour or Taylor Swift herself just a bunch of super fans that want to dance to all Taylor Swift all night long,” said Ms Kollmorgen.

Got a news tip? Email [e-mail]