Harry Styles Melbourne concert 2023: Fans line up for second show
Dedicated fans have again queued for hours at Marvel Stadium ahead of Harry Styles’ second Melbourne show, with one calling it “a 36-hour fever dream”.
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Harry Styles fans have begun flocking to Marvel Stadium ahead of his second and final show in Melbourne.
Similar to Friday’s chaotic scenes, fans began queuing outside the venue from the early hours of Saturday morning, keen to get the best general admission spots.
Fans Issy Tynan and Sarah Turner made the trip from Adelaide, keen to see Styles for the first time.
“We were here from 9am and there was heaps of people already here,” Ms Turner said.
“We’re from Adelaide so we thought we’d make a weekend trip out of it.
“There were so many Harry fans coming over from Adelaide.
“It’s like a 36-hour fever dream.”
SEE THE PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE CONCERT
Fans have again been allowed inside the concourse to access shade and water, while keeping the line outside to a minimum.
Di Sandilands, 55, has only just boarded the Harry Styles train, falling in love with the British star in recent years.
“He just seems to be a lovely bloke. He’s a talented songwriter. He’s a great entertainer. He’s a showman. There is nothing hotter than Harry,” she said.
“I want to see him now while he’s hot, as opposed to in 20 years when he’s a washed-up rockstar.”
When asked if she joined the hundreds of fans queuing early, Ms Sandilands said: “my days of queuing for these things are long gone”.
— Regan Hodge
Superstar dazzles fans in first show
His Melbourne visit began with 30 superfans chasing him down the Tullamarine Freeway.
At Marvel Stadium on Friday night, 50,000 additional stragglers finally caught up with the hot pursuit, and made it, en masse, to Harry’s House.
Harry’s House is, of course, the temporary Docklands address of pop superstar Harry Styles for his two-night Melbourne takeover.
Styles, 29, a Grammy and Brits winner, is the biggest pop star on the planet. His hits include As It Was, Sign Of The Times, and Adore You.
A former boy band singer, Styles has morphed into an intriguing multifaceted juggernaut who packs hits, an ambiguous wardrobe, a gender-fluid outlook and a wildly inclusive vibe.
Accordingly, his fans — shimmering and sparkling — turned up to Docklands as their bedazzled best selves, in glitter pants, spangly jackets, flickering bits-and-bobs, and miles of fluffy feather boas.
“Please feel free to be whoever it is you’ve always wanted to be,” Styles told the crowd. “We’re going to do it together, we’re going to keep each other safe and we’ll look after each other.”
However, Styles told his house guests he would not be reprising the “shoey” he did in Perth earlier this week.
“Complain all you want,” he said. “If you were running around up here for an hour and a half, you wouldn’t be doing a shoey either.”
He added: “I’ve done my first and only shoey, and it was truly revolting.”
Styles, all floppy hair, dressed in red, and with boundless energy, played guitar on one of the opening songs Golden, before firing off the first hit, Adore You.
“My name is Harry, it’s an absolute pleasure to be here,” he said. “I’ve been coming to Melbourne for 11 years now, and I have wonderful memories here.”
For some, on Friday night, Styles created life-changing moments, especially one courageous woman who held up a sign asking him to help her come out to her family.
Elsewhere, he did birthday shout-outs, wore a Bunnings hat, and worked the stage like an athlete.
The set list included hits Watermelon Sugar, the One Direction classic What Makes You Beautiful, and Late Night Talking.
Cinema, a sly funk jam, switched the footy ground into a heaving disco. Quieter pieces Matilda and Satellites were gentle, albeit thought-provoking meditations on a perfect night.
After shelving the shoey, would Styles would reboot his version of Daryl Braithwaite’s unlikely Gen Y anthem, The Horses, which he performed in WA?
Nope. Harry scratched The Horses and, for his encore, opted for a superior slice of Australiana — Kiwi.
Harry Styles performs his second and final show at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
— Nui Te Koha
Harry helps fan ‘come out’
Styles was left “emotional” after he helped a fan “come out” during his first Melbourne show on Friday night.
The superstar read out a die-hard fan’s sign that said: “Help me come out!!! Mum is next 2 me, dad is level 2, section 41.”
The fan, named Fauve, was standing next to her mum when Styles noticed her.
“Now, I feel like I could help, I feel like she might know, I just said it,” he said.
“But would you like us to go through our Love On Tour coming out process?
“This is the first time we are taking this Down Under so prepare yourselves.
“Everything is going to be upside down.”
The crowd chanted “let’s go” as Styles danced to “coming out” music.
“Oh we are coming out like that tonight,” he said.
“You rise to the heavens of freedom Fauve, enjoy yourself.
“I feel emotional.”
Styles has helped fans “come out” during his shows before including in London last year and the US in 2020.
— Brooke Grebert-Craig
Harry sighted ahead of Melbourne gig
It seems Styles has finally been sighted in Melbourne.
Twitter user @thepocketqueen posted a picture from inside Marvel Stadium on Friday, claiming it to be a shot of “Harry during rehearsal in Melbourne.”
The picture showed a man dressed in activewear, crouching in front of a microphone stand, on stage at the Docklands venue. The man is seen talking to a production assistant.
The post was shared immediately by Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson fan site, HL Daily.
HL Daily also reposted a picture by @jordankateprentice claiming Styles happily posed with fans “after playing golf in Australia.”
The post follows unconfirmed reports Styles hit the links in Melbourne on Wednesday and Thursday.
One of the men in the picture with Styles is former coffee king John Valmorbida.
Styles has said he plays golf to relax.
He joined the exclusive Highgate Golf Club in North London, at the urging of his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan, last year.
With Styles “sightings” emerging before his first show at Marvel Stadium, thousands of fans were counting down for the gates to open, after queuing since 9am.
>> Download your souvenir Harry Styles poster here
Superfan Tahlia Robin and Rayne Wrighton-Smith braved the 33C temperature to spend the day in line.
“We brought hats, sunnies, umbrellas, and a water mist fan to cool us down,” Tahlia said.
“My dad works in a building nearby, so he’s going to come by and pick all of our stuff up before we go in. We planned it all out a week before.”
— Nui Te Koha
Super fans queue since 4am
Die-hard fans of global superstar Styles lined up outside Marvel Stadium from the early hours of Friday morning, eager to get as close to the action as possible.
Hundreds of fans had been queuing as far as Southern Cross Station by 9am on Friday.
Blankets and camp chairs kept fans comfortable throughout the morning, as they ignored warnings not to queue before 9am.
Marvel Stadium security have allowed waiting crowds into the concourse inside the stadium, giving access to toilets, drinking water and shade.
Mega-fan Rayne Wrighton-Smith began queuing on Thursday morning to get first crack at the best general admission spot.
“We started queuing at 11.30am yesterday … we only got like an hour and a half sleep last night,” she said.
“It was very rough but we’ll get through it … my car is parked nearby so we can go and put our stuff in it before we go in.
She said Marvel Stadium’s warning didn’t phase them.
“I wasn’t too worried … we weren’t lining up directly outside Marvel so we could just say (to security) we were sleeping nearby.”
Beyonce Wigg said she’d been queuing since 4am Friday.
“We woke up at 3am, got driven here and there was only about 10 other people here at 4am,” she said perched in her camp chair.
“Early access for standing room can go in first, then general admission can go in after so we just want to get as close as we can.”
She and hundreds of others were preparing to brave Friday’s top of 33C, bringing supplies to get them through the day.
“We’ve brought hats, sunnies, umbrellas, and a water mist fan to cool us down,” she added.
“My dad works in a building nearby, so he’s going to come by and pick all of our stuff up before we go in.
“We planned it all out like a week before.”
It comes as fans have been warned to expect delays getting to and from the show, due to essential works on several of the state’s busiest train lines.
Impacted services include the Mernda, Hurstbridge, Frankston, Pakenham, Cranbourne and Sandringham lines, as well as V/Line services to Geelong and Waurn Ponds, Ballarat and Wendouree, and Bendigo, Echuca and Swan Hill.
The Department of Transport is urging people to plan their journey, with more than 100,000 concertgoers expected to attend over the next two days.
— Regan Hodge
Marvel puts ‘queuing strategies in place’
Marvel Stadium bosses on Thursday assured fans they had “queuing strategies in place”
The venue has banned fans from queuing earlier than 9am on Friday.
It is believed organisers were encouraged by “respectful” and “happy” queues to buy Styles’ tour merchandise at the Docklands site on Thursday.
But hardcore Harry devotees are planning to flout the rules and start lining up outside Marvel Stadium at sunrise to score prime spots in the GA zone when gates open at 5pm.
Styles, who is playing near-sold out concerts at Marvel on Friday and Saturday, is due on stage at 9pm.
The 29-year-old Grammy-winning British star is arguably the world’s biggest pop act, with hits such as Sign of the Times and As It Was.
Emily Heath, 25, from London said: “Of course I’m going to arrive before 9am, the early bird gets the worm. I’m a Pom so the English blood running though me is worried about the heat.”
Naomi Fitzgerald, 22, of Garfield, added: “I think you have to arrive earlier than 9am to get the best view. I plan on arriving at 4am.”
Another superfan, Gemma Batten, 19, of Adelaide agreed: “We have flown here so of course we are lining up before 9am.
“I’m slightly worried about the heat, especially being a ranga.”
Marvel Stadium spokesman Jay Allen said on Thursday: “Fans wishing to line up for Friday’s Harry Styles concert are permitted do so from 9am. Patron welfare, security and safety is our priority and we have queuing strategies in place for fans who choose to arrive during the day ahead of the concert.
“Fans are encouraged to bring water bottles and to be sun smart. There will be additional water fill stations and misting fans available as well as food and beverage and rest rooms outside the venue.”
Teams from Red Frogs Australia, a support program for young people, will roam the lines to check on guest welfare during the day.
Paramedics are concerned about sweltering temperatures on both days. Alison Osborne, senior training team leader at St John Ambulance, recommended people avoid soft drinks, energy drinks and coffee.
“They will dehydrate you and make you susceptible to the heat,” she said.
Meanwhile, Styles fans Sarah Odell, Eleanor Larwood, and Mary Bourke have sorted their sartorial sparkles for Friday night.
“Rainbow sparkles is the best way to describe our fashion choices,” Sarah said.
“I made my vest and put as much sparkle and colour into it as I could.
“It’s been a bit stressful. You want to be original but you have to keep it fun.”
— Nui Te Koha, Chloe Bott
Fans line up for hours to buy merch
Queues for the Styles merchandise stand wrapped around Marvel Stadium, with thousands reportedly lining up for a chance at the holy grail: a “love on tour” T-shirt.
Unfazed by the blazing Melbourne sun, diehard fans have tried to get ahead of the crowds and snatch up their merch early – met, unfortunately, with thousands of others seeking the same advantage on Thursday.
The fans – or the ‘Harries’ as they are known – have ditched work, wagged school and suffered hours in the heat for the cause of a T-shirt, tote bag or pair of socks.
Styles’ overwhelmingly young female fan base made up the majority of the monster queue, peppered with men, parents and boyfriends along the way.
A heavy security presence was also established at Marvel, with a zero-tolerance approach to overnight campers expected to be taken.
— Grace Baldwin
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