What we’ve learnt so far from Taylor Swift’s Australian shows – and what to expect next

As quickly as Taylor Swift arrived, she’s gone. The pop star wrapped up her Melbourne shows on Sunday night, bidding adieu to the hundreds of thousands of Swifties who sang along with her inside the MCG or outside its gates over the weekend.

Swift was spotted boarding her jet at Melbourne airport on Monday morning, fresh off the back of three sold-out shows at the MCG.

Swift is making the short journey to Sydney ahead of the next leg of her tour. The Sydney leg of the Eras tour begins on Friday night at Accor Stadium, with Swift due to play four shows.

US pop star Taylor Swift is seen boarding her jet as she leaves Melbourne. Credit: Nine NewsCredit: Nine News

Swift arrived at Melbourne Airport at 1am last Thursday, and her convoy drove straight to Crown before her Australian tour commenced on Friday at the MCG. Swiftmania will now shift to Sydney, as the Harbour City prepares for a full week of playing host to the superstar.

On Monday morning she took to social media to thank the Melbourne crowd.

However, one city’s loss is another’s gain, as Sydney eagerly awaits the arrival of the cultural juggernaut.

It was a whirlwind three days during which Swift revealed her Friday show in front of 96,000 people was the biggest of her career to date. Swift told Sunday’s crowd at the MCG that she could happily stay in Melbourne forever, saying: “Melbourne, you are the love of my life.”

She said she had never experienced a crowd like the 288,000 people who attended over three days – not just in size, but in dedication to costume.

“It’s like the crowd that you saw in your childhood bedroom when you were like, ‘I want to be a singer’,” she said. Here is a rundown of the things we’ve learnt so far.

Taylor Swift’s first Australian performance of the Eras Tour was the biggest of her career. Next up: Sydney.Credit: Jason South

Swift’s dancer is a national treasure

Swift is obviously the creative force of the show, but her back-up dancers have been attracting attention since her US leg last year. Beyond their incredible moves (choreographed by Mandy Moore), fans can’t get enough of their moments in the spotlight.

One dancer in particular has piqued the interest of Australian Swifties: Kameron Saunders. While singing We Are Never Getting Back Together on Friday night, Swift spoke these lyrics: “So, you know that we are never getting back together”.

She then passed the microphone to Saunders, who confidently said “yeah nah” in his best Aussie drawl.

Kameron Saunders (far left) performing with Taylor Swift in Argentina.Credit: AP

The crowd erupted as the quintessential Australian phrase reverberated around the stadium. On Sunday night, he took it up another notch with “nah, mate” – to great delight. Swift has been known to insert small nods towards the language or culture of the city she is performing in.

Following the show, clips of Saunders’ interlude flooded social media, with many fans complimenting him for his “energy and radiance” on stage.

Responding to the attention, Saunders remained humble, choosing instead to honour his fellow dancers.

“My fellow performers and this AMAZING crew help to keep a show of this magnitude at the highest possible quality night after night. So, I am in EXCEPTIONAL company. But, it’s so very nice to be included so thank you,” he wrote on Instagram on Sunday.

Saunders has been touring alongside Swift since the beginning of the Eras Tour in the US.

He has also featured as a principal dancer in the Christmas film Spirited (2022) and, more recently, The Color Purple (2023).

Mission Impossible: How Swift sneaks into the venue

When you’re the biggest pop star in the world, you can’t just walk into a venue. It requires planning and covert action.

Some fans-cum-sleuths believe they may have spotted Swift being carted into the MCG on Friday hidden inside what appeared to be a cleaning trolley.

Whether it was actually her, we can’t be sure. However, the pop star has become known for her creative methods over time.

In 2018, Zayn Malik, who had worked with Swift on Fifty Shades of Darker a year earlier, told British Vogue she had travelled around in a suitcase to avoid paparazzi.

More recently, fans at her show in Arlington, Texas, last year captured footage of the star stepping out of a large cleaning cart backstage.

Shaking off the asbestos problem

After dangerous forms of asbestos were found in mulch around Sydney parks, schools and hospitals in the past few weeks, concerns turned towards the venue precinct for Swift’s upcoming shows.

However, Accor Stadium and the surrounding area have been cleared after extensive testing on mulch.

“All of our tests at Olympic Park are negative, and I can say with certainty that the Harbour City is ready to welcome Taylor Swift with open arms,” said the Environment Protection Authority’s chief executive, Tony Chappel, on Sunday.

Sleep or sight-see? Swift’s mini-break

After the Sunday show in Melbourne, Swift will have four days off before taking the stage in Sydney’s Accor stadium and after performing three back-to-back 3.5-hour shows, will probably need all the rest she can get.

So it is unlikely the pop star will be gallivanting around Melbourne or Sydney this week, choosing instead to rest her feet (she performs the majority of her show in some kind of high heel) and vocal cords.

Speaking to Time magazine in December, Swift said she takes one “dead day” during a hiatus between tour legs.

Taylor Swift will need to put her feet up after performing three back-to-back 3.5-hour shows.Credit: Jason South

“I do not leave my bed except to get food and take it back to my bed and eat it there ... I can barely speak because I’ve been singing for three shows straight. Every time I take a step my feet go crunch, crunch, crunch from dancing in heels,” she told the magazine after it named her person of the year.

It’s also safe to assume Swift will not be imbibing in any of Australia’s finest wines or liquors, given she has so far done the entire tour sober. “Doing that show with a hangover … I don’t want to know that world,” she told Time.

Swift’s previous visit to Australia could also indicate the star may opt to lie low between shows. When she was down under for the Reputation tour in 2018, she posted pictures to Instagram of her exploring the Australian wilderness.

Regardless of her plans, fans will undoubtedly keep a close eye on Swift between shows, especially given what other celebrities have gotten up to while down under recently.

When the Foo Fighters were in Melbourne in December, Dave Grohl helped The Big Umbrella Foundation – a street kitchen charity for the homeless – serve food for several hours. In February last year, Ed Sheeran serenaded patients at children’s hospitals in Sydney and Melbourne ahead of his concert.

Most recently, the members of Blink-182 toured the bay in Sydney earlier this month. The rock band’s drummer, Travis Barker, also brought his stepson to Taronga Zoo.

Many celebrities have opted to get close to a koala while down under, including Oprah Winfrey, Harry Styles and Roger Federer.

Where are you, Lover?

A big question still on many fans’ minds is: will Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, make it to Sydney?

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ win in the Super Bowl last week.Credit: Getty Images

Kelce, an NFL tight end who just won the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs, may have hinted last week at plans to visit.

Speaking to his brother, Jason, on their New Heights podcast, Kelce said he was “about to go on a f---ing adventure myself over to an island here soon”.

When asked which island, he responded: “I don’t know. I think the best ones are south right now. I’m going to go south.”

Kelce accompanied Swift at some of her South American shows earlier in her global tour.

Taylor Swift played in Melbourne from February 16 to 18, then performs in Sydney on February 23, 24, 25 and 26.

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