Taylor Swift fans queue for seven hours for Eras Tour merchandise
Taylor Swift fans have gone to incredible lengths for a slice of her Eras Tour.
Australian Swifties have demonstrated once again their passionate dedication to the pop superstar, queuing for hours and handing over thousands of dollars for Eras Tour merchandise.
There were wild scenes at at Olympic Park on Wednesday morning as fans queued for up to seven hours to get first dibs on the collection.
Fans Leyla Prior and Mackenzie Palmer said they have already spent about $4000 between them on the event.
“The tickets were about $1600, then the merch was probably $1000, flights for me from Queensland, I spent about $500 and then bracelets and outfits were probably another $500 each,” Ms Palmer said.
Despite shelling out a fortune for the event, the pair were unfazed and said they were just grateful they would be among the lucky fans watching Swift take the stage this weekend.
“We are just so grateful that we actually got tickets,” Ms Prior said.
The pair joined the queue about 9.30am, just as a second merch tent opened up, so they only had to wait about one hour in the queue.
“Everyone was so nice, showing us the sizes and what they bought so it was really smooth,” Ms Prior said.
“It was such a fun time, we can’t wait for the concert.”
Thea Belmonte and her friend Shaznee Villaruz missed out on tickets to the concerts but still wanted to get a taste of the tour fever by grabbing some merchandise.
“The atmosphere was electric,” she said.
“You could feel everyone was really excited, some people were handing out friendship bracelets, and dressing up.”
She said she was hopeful they might still be able to score some last minute tickets, but if not, they might join the dozens of fans who plan to camp outside the stadium and listen in.
The stands are open between 10am and 6pm on Wednesday and Thursday this week, and will be available on a first come, first served basis.
If you are not able to make it to the merchandise tents early, the stands will be open before and during the show as per usual.
However, it is anticipated they will be very busy on concert days.
There were long lines for merchandise in Melbourne last week, with some fans on Sunday claiming most of the stock had been sold out.
What is on offer at the merch sites?
There are a number of items up for grabs at the merchandise stands, including T-shirts, water bottles and posts.
Posters are priced at $40, while a tour hoodies cost $120.
T-shirts are priced at $65.
Water bottles are priced at a huge $40 and canvas tapestries were available to buy for $55.
When is Swift playing again?
Taylor Swift arrived in Australia last week and has already performed three shows in Melbourne from February 16 to 18.
She has a few days off before taking the stage in Sydney from February 23-26.
She is scheduled to perform in Singapore from March 2, giving her just four days off in between shows.
Chaos as Ticketek hit with ‘ongoing issues’
Customers and ticketholders have been left fuming at an extended outage on Australian ticketing agency Ticketek’s website.
Delta news fans have been waiting years for
Aussie star Delta Goodrem has made a huge announcement that will make longtime fans very happy.
‘Severe’: Revellers flee huge Aussie concert
There was chaos at the final show of this international pop tour last night, as the headliners were forced to cancel minutes before taking to the stage.