Taylor Swift Eras Tour: Safety warning for Swifties after fan’s death

A crowd expert has shared tips on how Swifties’ can avoid the health risks of packed crowds ahead of Taylor Swift’s Melbourne concert.

Crowd safety authorities have warned Swifties to be aware of the dangers of big gigs at her Australian concerts after the tragic death of a 23-year-old fan due to heat exhaustion at an Eras Tour concert in Brazil last year.

With more than 100,000 people attending the three MCG concerts this weekend, UNSW crowd behavioural expert Dr Milad Haghani said venues and promoters had to post constant advice to fans about the potential health risks of densely packed crowds particularly in hot weather.

Dr Haghani, who will be analysing the behaviour of the crowds at Melbourne, said it was imperative to remind concertgoers of the dangers, as many may queue for eight hours before they even get inside the gates.

“Education should include information on how to recognise and respond to health emergencies, such as heat stroke or dehydration, which are common in large, densely packed crowds, especially in hot weather,” he said.

Taylor Swift fans pack Estadio Olimpico Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the Eras Tour show. Picture: Buda Mendes/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

“I strongly advise all event organisers to put out such information on a wide range of channels, including social media and screens at the event itself, to help promote that safety culture.”

The The MCG and the Accor Stadium in Sydney allow water to be brought into the stadium in soft plastic bottles, with numerous bubblers for free refills located throughout the venues.

“Crowd safety in Australia as a whole is very advanced and we have some of the best practices in the world, so I definitely don’t want to sound alarmist,” adds Dr Haghani.

But he said fans should not only make sure they are well hydrated during the concert but stay aware of what was happening around them in the packed stadiums and identify security and other staff personnel they can quickly alert to anyone in trouble.

A woman cools off with a hose as Taylor Swift fans queue outside the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium amid a heatwave in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the Eras Tour show. Picture: AFP

TICKETS GONE IN 35 MINUTES

It comes as the final Melbourne battle in the hunger games war for Taylor Swift tickets was over in 35 minutes on Tuesday.

Thousands of fans hoping to breach the infamous Ticketek lounge to shoot their shot at the final release of tickets for the three concerts at the MCG this weekend only had to wait a mere 35 minutes before finding out they were unsuccessful.

It is understood the majority of the Eras Tour tickets available were restricted view seats.

With the stage production underway, Frontier Touring had released limited tickets including restricted view seats for $65.90.

The MCG extra tickets went on sale at 2pm AEDT and Sydney Accor Stadium seats from 4pm AEDT.

The final release of tickets to the four Sydney concerts took longer to sell out as more people made their last ditch bid to buy.

The restricted view and pockets of seats identified by Swift’s production team that could go online sold out in about 75 minutes.

Grab of Ticketek lounge waiting page for Taylor Swift tickets. Picture: Supplied

Frontier have advised Swifites to keep on eye on their social channels for any ticket updates during the tour.

Ticketek will also set up customer pop-ups outside the MCG and Accor Stadium from the Wednesday before each leg kicks off to assist fans who may have had their accounts hacked in a current scam to steal tickets and resell them.

SCAM ALERT FOR SWIFTIES

Desperate Swifties and their parents are ignoring alerts from NAB which have flagged potential payments of more than $5 million in possible ticket scams over the past three months.

The bank has monitored activity around concert ticket purchases since November, with customers abandoning $285,0000 in payments after receiving an alert via the NAB app or internet banking warning their money transfer may be linked to a potential scam.

But it is suspected many more customers have proceeded with transferring funds, generally between $1600 and $1800, despite receiving the alerts.

Banks and consumer authorities have ramped up warnings of potential online ticket scams in recent weeks as not only Swift fans but those keen to go to Coldplay and P! nk shows try to buy a seat to sold-out concerts.

One of the scams involves criminals hacking social media accounts and selling bogus tickets to the victim’s unwitting friends.

NAB launched its payment alert software in March last year. Customers receive the alert if a payment is out of character or shows signs it could be a scam.

NAB Security Awareness Manager Laura Hartley said scammers played on fans’ FOMO, targeting fans who post on social media looking for tickets, or listing fake ones.

She said customers need to pause when they get an alert flagging a suspected scam before they authorise the payment.

If the ticket deal looks too good to be true, it’s possibly a scam. Picture: A Current Affair

“Tickets for sold out concerts being listed on social media marketplaces or posts in fan groups are the biggest red flag of a scam,” she said.

“Only buy tickets from the authorised reseller.

“We’re hearing about criminals hacking social media profiles and selling bogus concert tickets to the account owner’s friends, who aren’t aware someone else is controlling the account.

“Even if it’s a friend you legitimately know listing the tickets on social media, pick up the phone and talk to them directly before sending money.”

Ticket scams are believed to have cost Australians $43 million last year.

NAB urged any customers who fear they have fallen prey to fraudulent activity to contact their bank immediately.

Originally published as Taylor Swift Eras Tour: Safety warning for Swifties after fan’s death