Taylor Swift performs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 16 February. Photo: Graham Denholm/TAS24
Taylor Swift has played to the biggest crowd of her career at Melbourne's MCG stadium.
The star said on stage that she was "overjoyed" to have been told she had an audience of 96,000 people.
"This is the biggest show that we have done on this tour, or any tour, ever," Swift said.
Taylor Swift wears a custom Nicole + Felicia gown during her 'Speak Now' set at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 16 February, 2024. Photo: Graham Denholm/TAS24
Melbourne came alive with Swifties - the name often given to Taylor Swift fans - for the wildly anticipated Eras Tour, which takes fans on a journey through her musical eras.
When Swift first appeared on stage, fans screamed and cried, creating a deafening noise.
A young fan reacts after receiving the "22 hat" - given to one lucky fan at each show - from Taylor Swift in Melbourne. Photo: Graham Denholm/TAS24
Thousands of fans dressed in brightly coloured, sparkly outfits, indicating their favourite Taylor Swift "eras", and many wore homemade friendship bracelets and exchanged them with strangers.
Swifties exchange bracelets before the Melbourne show. Photo: William WEST / AFP
There were also Taylor Swift fans who didn't have tickets to the show but still turned up, decked out in creative costumes, to soak up the atmosphere. Others made last-minute efforts to score a ticket.
Many sat on the ground outside the MCG to listen to the music from afar.
Many attendees were locals, but plenty travelled from interstate and internationally to see Swift perform.
Swift performs with backup dancers during her 'Reputation' set at the MCG. Photo: Graham Denholm/TAS24
The biggest show of Swift's career
Tour promoter Frontier said this week that Swift's MCG concerts would be the largest of her career.
Her three concerts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will also break the record for the most tickets sold by one artist at the venue.
She's performing four concerts in Sydney next week at Accor Stadium.
Swift acknowledges the crowd of 96,000 at the MCG. Photo: Graham Denholm/TAS24
Desperate fans hoped to score last-minute tickets
Some fans desperately sought tickets right before the show.
Sam, 19, was holding up a sign that said "Got spare tickets? Speak now."
The diehard Swiftie said he'd been staying up late trying everywhere to get his hands on a ticket to the Eras tour, even looking for tickets to Swift's dates overseas.
"It was horrible, to be honest," he said.
Security move ticketless Swifties away from the Melbourne Cricket Ground before the first of Swift's three shows in Melbourne. Photo: William WEST / AFP
But at least he teamed up with fellow fan Nicola, who was also trying to get a ticket.
"Same thing, I've been up late at night, on Facebook Marketplace," she said.
Outside the MCG, voice announcements urged fans without tickets to stay away from the concourse.
Swift performs "You're Losing Me" as the surprise song at last night's concert. Photo: Graham Denholm/TAS24
Unfortunate fans heartbroken over scam tickets
While there were squeals of joy and cheers in almost every direction, the vibes were a little different at the ticket enquiries line, with some anxious fans waiting to see whether they could have fallen victim to a scam.
One fan, Alfred, said he was devastated after his ticket suddenly "disappeared".
"We could see the QR code and everything for the whole week, and then it was suddenly not valid," he said.
Alfred didn't want to say exactly how much he had paid for his four tickets - but it was "more than $1,000".
He said he had bought them off a friend.
He had even emailed Ticketek ahead of time to double-check the tickets were real, and they had sent him a confirmation email.
But Alfred said Ticketek said that email was in error, and they couldn't do anything to help him and his friends for Friday's show.
They advised him to report the incident to the police.
- This story was first published by the ABC.