Live updates from Taylor Swift’s Sydney Eras Tour: Adorable moment as young Swifty gets ‘22’ hat
Taylor Swift has done it again in Sydney, melting her fans’ hearts by sharing a special moment with a five-year-old.
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One of Taylor Swift’s young fans received the singer’s “22” from her in person at Sunday night’s Sydney concert, in another adorable moment that melted the heart of the crowd.
Lily, 5, recently won her local public speaking competition when she passionately spoke about all things Taylor Swift.
The video of her speech caught the eye of tour organisers, who plucked the youngster from the crowd for the coveted hat.
Meanwhile, a detail at Taylor Swift’s Australian Eras Tour shows in Sydney and Melbourne has stunned her American fans, prompting them to do a “double take”.
One US TikTok user expressed her confusion at why crowds are allowed to bring non-clear bags inside concert arenas, when only clear bags are permitted in her own country – and there’s a “sad” reason why.
Young Swiftie gifted coveted ‘22’ hat
A five-year-old girl who won her zone’s public speaking competition with a speech on why she loves Taylor Swift has received the coveted “22” hat tonight.
Lily said she didn’t want to be a doctor or a teacher but a “singer like Taylor” in her winning speech that has since gone viral.
🚨| Young swiftie, Lily, received the 22 hat at tonight's show of Taylor Swift's 'The Eras Tour' in Sydney, Australia! #SydneyTSTheErasTour
— The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) February 25, 2024
pic.twitter.com/ZD4NE1rDob
Lily continued that her favourite song was Lover because she “loves love hearts” and her second favourite was Shake it Off because she liked “shaking her body”.
Lily said her mother waited 10 hours to get tickets to the Sydney concert.
Swift on stage, thanks crowd for their support
The moment has arrived that fans have been waiting for – Taylor Swift is on stage.
First song is Miss America & the Heartbreak Prince.
The singer tells the crowd there are over 83,000 people at the sold-out event.
“You’re making me feel a little too excellent right now,” she said.
“Each Sydney show is more energy than the last.
“Sydney has made me feel so welcome.”
Then she takes off her jacket and pulls out a pink guitar for crowd favourite Lover.
As one fan writes on X: “Lover at sunset with 83,000 fans is perfect.”
Sabrina Carpenter enters the stage
American singer Sabrina Carpenter has taken the stage in an eye-catching off the shoulder blue dress and white knee-high boots.
The 24-year-old is the opening act on the Eras Tour and is quickly becoming a crowd favourite.
🪩 | Sabrina Carpenter performing her cover of ‘Hopelessly Devoted To You’ today!#SydneyTSTheErasTourpic.twitter.com/DJmWE39EID
— Sabrina Daily Updates (@SCdailyupdates) February 25, 2024
Carpenter was forced to cancel her set because of rain delays and lightening strikes on Friday night.
Fans begin arriving at Accor Stadium
Fans have begun to spill into Accor stadium for Sunday night’s sold-out concert.
It’s a balmy 28 degrees, a welcome relief after Friday’s wild weather.
Mary Joseph, from Cammeray on Sydney’s lower north shore, has been a fan of Swift’s music since her early country music days.
She described the atmosphere to news.com.au as “incredibly joyful, united and happy”.
“It’s wonderful seeing all the different generations and people of all backgrounds coming together to enjoy Taylor and her beautiful music,” she said.
As for the song she is most looking forward to?
“All Too Well,” she said. “Though I know I will cry.”
TikToker wonders why Aussies are allowed bags at concerts
An American TikTok user has wondered why Aussie crowds are allowed to bring non-clear bags inside concert arenas around the country.
“I am watching all these outfits for the Eras tour in Australia being like why don’t they have to wear clear bags,” user Molly Halter mused on the platform,
Adding in the caption of the video: “Any other Americans doing a double take at all the eras tour outfits in Sydney and Melbourne?”
Apparently in the US, concertgoers are only permitted to bring a clear plastic bag into arenas, with the rule being enforced at Taylor’s concert earlier this month at State Farm Stadium in Arizona.
Known at the NFL Clear Bag Policy, the rule strictly limits the type of bags permitted in the building – backpacks, purses and even nappy bags are out, small clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bags are in. And they can be no bigger than 30cm x 30cm in size.
The TikToker theorised that the rules were more relaxed in Australia because we have strict gun laws.
“They don’t have gun problems,” she said, answering her own query.
Many commenters were stunned by this theory, with one Aussie saying she assumed the clear bag policy at US shows had to do with people not sneaking in food and drinks.
“They didn’t even check my bag in Melbourne lol,” another said.
A fellow American commenter said that it was “so sad” it had become their “normal” in the US.
“I wonder what the rest of the world thought of our outfits and our plastic bags? Did they think it was a trend here,” another wrote.
Jackie O spotted among the crowd
Jackie “O” Henderson is a Swiftie and damn proud of it.
The radio host excitedly shared a series of photos and videos of her time at the concert with her famous friends Pip Edwards, Sonia Kruger and Tash Oakley.
“Night 2,” the Kyle & Jackie O host captioned one post on Instagram.
As it turns out, fashion designer Edwards was not a Taylor fan up until the concert where she became a convert.
“The moment @pipedwards realises she’s a Swiftie,” Henderson captioned one photo on Instagram Stories.
Concertgoers annoyed with some fans singing along at gigs
Who doesn’t love to belt out their favourite hits along with their icons at concerts?
But it appears some fans may be taking things a bit too far, with multiple videos emerging online of fans screaming along with Taylor Swift’s songs to the point where it is almost impossible to hear the singer herself.
One video from one of the Melbourne shows recently gained attention online after a fan filmed herself singing along to the singer’s hit, Tolerate It – leaving some unimpressed.
“Honestly I don’t care how much you love the song, concerts are a public space and people around you paid a lot of money for a concert,” one user wrote on Twitter.
“Don’t be selfish and have concert etiquette please.”
Commenters were quick to agree, with one user pointed out there was a difference between singing along loudly to a song and “screeching for a video”, branding it “obnoxious”.
“Imagine this your favourite song you’ve been waiting for and you can’t hear a single word of it because someone is doing this,” another said, with one person adding it would be “absolute hell”.
Rebel Wilson dances with Taylor’s dad
When Taylor’s dad wasn’t handing out food to fans at the concert, he was busy getting down with Rebel Wilson in the VIP area.
The Aussie actor shared a video on Instagram of the duo dancing at the concert while Taylor performed Shake It Off onstage.
“Papa Swift,” Wilson captioned the video of the pair going wild on the dance floor.
Video exposes unfortunate reality of $1300 tickets
One attendee at last night’s concert revealed the unfortunate reality of some of the most coveted seats at Accor Stadium.
In a TikTok video, user Lauren Vella wrote that she spent $1300 on floor tickets, only to “watch the back of peoples (sic) heads”. The premium-priced seats that have been met with backlash from some fans as they are not tiered, meaning shorter fans toward the back might struggle to see past people in front of them.
Many in the clip’s comments agreed that the obstructed viewing experience wasn’t worth the steep price.
“That is what happens with floor or general admission. Unless you are in barricade, it’s a horrible experience,” one wrote.
“This is why I always get seats I’m too short lol,” another agreed.
While a third said: “That’s why being in the stand is better because of the different levels, no one’s height can really affect what you see.”
During the Melbourne leg of the Eras Tour, Collingwood AFL player Mason Cox issued a public plea to any fans stuck behind him, after a photo showed just how much of a raw deal they had, sat behind the 2.11m athlete.
Cox, who had floor seats not too far from the stage, put the call out to the Swifties “sat directly behind me to give them tickets to an AFL game” in apology, telling Nova 100’s Ben, Liam & Belle he felt “absolutely dreadful” heading into the concert due to his stature.
“I was excited. I was hyped. And I was like, maybe we’ll get an aisle seat. I can just stand in the aisle – No! Middle of the row, no options whatsoever,” he said.
“I feel so bad with them sitting behind me after paying all the money and everything else, and then probably not even seeing Taylor Swift.”
Last-minute tickets announced outside the stadium
It was pandemonium outside Accor Stadium when fans who flocked to the grounds were told over the speaker system that there were tickets still available.
According to TikTok user Melissa Aleksioska, ticketless fans sitting outside the stadium in hopes of scoring last-minute tickets were in luck when it was announced there were still some left to purchase.
In a video shared by Melissa, hordes of Swifties could be seen rushing to the ticket booths for one last shot at getting their hands on the coveted tickets.
“When they announce last minute tickets,” Melissa captioned the video.
Anthony Albanese dances to Shake It Off
Someone who did not leave early and had the time of their life was Anthony Albanese.
The Australian Prime Minister was seen off his seat in a corporate box and bopping along to Taylor’s hit Shake It Off alongside his long-time partner, Jodie Haydon, who is now his fiance after he proposed on Valentine’s Day.
The sighting comes after Albo refused to give his Taylor concert tickets away to a fan who called into 2DayFM’s Hughesy, Ed and Erin show when he was guest just days ago.
“I reckon 2-TayFM can sort you out,” he told the fan on-air. “I am going on Friday night and I am a real Swifty.”
Concertgoers slammed for arriving late
Another video on TikTok is getting attention after one user called out fans who arrived to the Sydney show one hour late.
A fan who wasn’t lucky enough to score a ticket aired their grievances on the platform, sharing a video of them sitting outside Accor Stadium while concertgoers arrived late and headed straight past them and into the arena.
“The people arriving at the Era Tour over 1 hour late vs. the fans who missed out on tickets and had to listen from outside,” the user captioned the video, while stationed outside the stadium on the ground.
However, some TikTok commenters suggested perhaps these fans were arriving late due to unforeseen circumstances or flight delays and cancellations because of the weather.
The user, who appeared to stay outside the stadium from start to finish, was also not impressed when some concertgoers left early while Taylor was still singing.
“Don’t even get me started on the people who left early,” they added.
Taylor’s hilarious crack at Aussie accent
Taylor Swift has delighted the Sydney crowd by having a crack at the Aussie accent while introducing her song ‘Should Have Said No’.
“I have a very specific word that is my favourite word that you say in an Australian accent and that word is the word, ‘no’,” she said.
“The more you chew on that ‘naur’.
“I think you say it better than I say it.”
She then encouraged the crowd to sing along however they like, let that be in an American accent or otherwise.
“Or you can just be yourselves and say: ‘You Should Have Said Naur’,” Taylor said before launching into the song.
📹 | “The choice is yours, you can sing it American like me if you want or you can just be yourselves and you can say Should've Said Naurâ€
— Taylor Swift Updates 🤠(@TSwiftLA) February 24, 2024
- Taylor before playing “Should’ve Said No†#SydneyTSTheErasTour
pic.twitter.com/3spxyQYIJK
Sydney crowd in stitches over iconic movie reference
Taylor Swift ‘s dancer has quoted an iconic line from an Australian movie during the second night of her four-day Sydney show run.
About 80,000 fans erupted into laughter on Saturday night when her dancer Kameron Saunders delivered a line from the 1997 film The Castle.
“Tell him he’s dreaming,” he sang, in reference to Michael Caton’s now infamous catchphrase from the film.
It came as Swift was introducing her next song, ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’.
Swift regularly hands Mr Saunders the microphone during the song, to which he says a line that is unique to the international audience they are performing for that night.
Earlier in the Melbourne leg of the tour, Saunders delivered the classic Aussie phrases, “yeah nah” and “naur”.
We are NEVER getting back together… TELL HIM HE’S DREAMING!#SydneyTSTheErasTourpic.twitter.com/4GnYH0om5E
— Taylor Swift Brasil (@taylorswiftbr) February 24, 2024
Sydney audience won’t stop standing ovation, shocking Taylor
Australians can’t get enough of Taylor Swift, and it’s left even Taylor herself shocked.
Just an hour into her Saturday night performance, the Sydney crowd couldn’t contain their fever pitch excitement at being there.
They gave her a standing ovation – and couldn’t stop. The clapping, cheering and whooping went on for four entire minutes of her set.
Taylor mouthed “that’s so loud, you guys won”
“You guys are on another level,” she said above the din.
“You are wild Sydney!
“You’re a crowd I dreamt of having as a child.”
News.com.au entertainment reporter Joshua Haigh, who is on the ground, described the ovation as “insane” and “deafening”.
It will surely go down in music history.
— With Joshua Haigh and Mary Madigan
Originally published as Live updates from Taylor Swift’s Sydney Eras Tour: Adorable moment as young Swifty gets ‘22’ hat
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