Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour: everything you need to know
In just days, the biggest tour Australia has ever seen will hit our shores when pop megastar Taylor Swift flies into Melbourne.
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… Are You Ready For It?
In just days, the biggest tour Australia has ever seen will hit our shores when pop megastar Taylor Swift flies into Melbourne on Friday.
The multi-Grammy award winner, stadium sellout, record breaking singer songwriter will perform seven shows in Melbourne and Sydney over the next two weeks to hundreds of thousands of adoring Swifties.
Important times
Whether you were lucky enough to nab tickets for the Melbourne shows or the Sydney shows, gates open at 4.30pm on the dot with the show expected to start at 6.20pm.
Box Offices at the MCG and Accor Stadium will open from 12pm on show day, and from 10am to 6pm on the Wednesday and Thursday before the shows. These are located at Gate 3 and Gate 6.
The show runs over three hours, so expect to be dancing well into the night.
As all tickets sold have assigned seats, fans have been advised that lining up before the doors open is not necessary.
Merchandise
Melbourne:
In Melbourne, merchandise presale is available on Wednesday and Thursday leading up to the first concert on Friday.
Merch is available in two locations in Yarra Park externally to the MCG.
Each location will open at 10am AEDT and the queue to purchase will be closed at 6pm AEDT.
From the official MCG website, Swifties have been advised:
On show days, three Yarra Park merchandise stands will operate during the following hours:
■ City End outlet (in Yarra Park parallel to Jolimont Street, East Melbourne in between the William Barak Bridge and the Dennis Lillee Statue). 12 noon AEDT to 10pm queue closure.
■ Richmond End outlet (in Yarra Park parallel to Brunton Ave in between the MCG and Punt Road Oval). 12 noon AEDT to 12 midnight queue closure.
■ Jolimont Station outlet (in Yarra Park located between Jolimont Station and the MCG). 12 noon AEDT to 12 midnight queue closure.
Remember, merch stores are cashless and stores operate at on a first come first served basis.
Sydney:
In line with Melbourne’s release, Sydney merchandise will be sold while supplied list on a first come first served basis.
Merchandise presale is available on Wednesday February 21 to Thursday February 22 from 10am to 6am at the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Dawn Fraser Ave.
On show days external merchandise stands will be open from 12pm until the conclusion of the concert.
Once purchased, fans are allowed to bring their merchandise into the venue.
Friendship bracelets
A big sigh of relief was felt right through the Swiftie fan base after touring provider, Frontier Touring, revoked their initial rule to not allow concertgoers to bring their handmade bracelets in their bags.
Alas, they caved to the pressure and now fans who have dedicated time and money into the tradition are allowed to bring they works of late along to the concert.
During other legs of the concert, friendship bracelets are traded throughout the entirety of the three-hour concert.
Fans are also gunning for You're on Your Own, Kid, the song that inspired the phenomenon, to be one of the surprise set songs during the Aussie leg of the tour.
Supporting act
American singer and actor Sabrina Carpenter will open for Taylor Swift during all seven of her Australian shows.
Carpenter first gained recognition for her leading role in Disney Channel’s Girl Meets World before transitioning to singing.
The colourful pop singer has followed Swift on most of Eras tour legs and is a fan favourite.
Sabrina Carpenter: Setlist
■ Read your Mind
■ Feather
■ Vicious
■ Already Over
■ Tornado Warnings
■ Opposite
■ Fast times
■ Because I liked a boy
■ Nonsense
Taylor tips
Can I get chosen to go backstage:
To put it bluntly: no.
But you can get chosen to receive Taylor’s hat during her 22 song; a tradition she started during The Red Tour all the way back in 2013.
Rumours are that Taylor’s mum Andrea picks a keen Swiftie from the crowd to receive the iconic black fedora when she attends her daughters shows. But you do have to be up close to the stage.
Food:
Both the MCG and Accor Stadium will sell food and drinks through the duration of the concert.
Don’t want to take a break during the set:
For the dedicated Swifities who don’t want to wait in line for a toilet during the Tour, adult diapers can be purchased from Coles and Woolworths for around $20. Chemist Warehouse and local pharmacies also sell them.
Setlist
Lover
■ Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince
■ Cruel Summer
■ The Man
■ You Need to Calm Down
■ Lover
■ The Archer
Fearless
■ Fearless
■ You Belong With Me
■ Love Story
Evermore
■ ‘tis the damn season
■ Willow
■ Majorie
■ Champagne problems
■ Tolerate it
Reputation
■ ..... Ready For It?
■ Delicate
■ Don’t Blame Me
■ Look What You Made Me Do
Speak Now
■ Enchanted
■ Long Live
Red
■ 22
■ I Knew You Were Trouble
■ All Too Well (10 Minute Version)
Folklore
■ The 1
■ Betty
■ The last great American dynasty
■ August
■ Illicit affairs
■ My tears ricochet
■ Cardigan
1989
■ Style
■ Blank Space
■ Shake It Off
■ Wildest Dreams
■ Bad Blood
Midnights
■ Anti-Hero
■ Midnight Rain
■ Vigilante Shit
■ Bejewleed
■ Mastermind
■ Karma
Surprise set
For the Swifties in the know, Taylor performs two surprise songs from her huge discography that are not featured in her Eras Tour set list.
She performs one song on the acoustic guitar and the other on the piano.
While many have their theories on how the megastar picks the songs she chooses to perform for the surprise set, nothing is officially set in stone.
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