Taylor Swift made history performing in front of her biggest crowd ever on the first night of her Eras Tour in Australia, but some ‘Swifties’ observers have wondered why so many seats in the stadium were empty.
Fans lucky enough to snag a seat at the sold-out show took to social media to share images of hundreds of empty seats across the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Taylor Swift took the stage shortly after 7pm on Friday for the first show of her Australian leg of the tour before a staggering crowd of 96,000 concertgoers.
Taylor Swift performs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the first Australian show of The Eras Tour. Photo: TAS Rights Management
Swift took the stage shortly after 7pm on Friday for the first show of her Australian leg of the tour before a staggering crowd of 96,000 concertgoers. Photo: TAS Rights Management
“My name is Taylor and I will be your host tonight,” she said as she began the long-awaited show.
‘I’m going crazy because there are 96,000 people here. This is the biggest show we’ve ever done.
‘I’m totally blown away by the fact that so many people wanted to hang out with us on a Friday night in Melbourne!’
But one disappointed music fan posted a series of images revealing almost two entire sections of the stadium were empty during the performance.
The images also showed dozens of empty seats scattered throughout the stands.
Melbourne Swifties have taken to social media to share images of hundreds of empty seats. Image: Facebook.
The images also showed dozens of empty seats scattered throughout the stands. Image: Facebook.
“A little upset to see so many blocks of empty seats,” she posted on Facebook.
“I hope they are empty for a good reason.”
Some social media users suggested that the images were simply taken before the star went on stage and people arrived.
However, former Triple M radio host James Anderson shared footage during Swift’s performance showing hundreds of empty seats.
‘Newly arrived photos: Empty seats seen for tonight’s Taylor Swift concert. “Ticketek is activating the queuing system shortly,” she said in a Facebook post.
Former Triple M radio host James Anderson shared photos of empty seats at the Melbourne Eras Tour on Friday night. Photo: James Anderson
Swifties who missed the sold-out show expressed their disappointment, with many suggesting they would be happy to sit in seats with obstructed views just to hear the singer live. Photo: James Anderson
Swifties who missed the sold-out show expressed their disappointment, with many suggesting they would be happy to sit in seats with obstructed views just to hear the singer live.
“I sat backstage, just to be there,” one fan wrote.
“I would totally sit in those seats… They’re better than nothing,” another commented.
‘I could be sitting there!’
One mother commented that the photos were “very sad when I almost had to sell my soul to try to get tickets for my two daughters aged 11 and 10 with no luck.”
Other Tay Tay fans were quick to reason with disappointed Melbourne fans, telling them it was “packed” when Swift took the stage.
One mother commented that the photos were “very sad when I almost had to sell my soul to try to get tickets for my two daughters aged 11 and 10 with no luck.”
Thousands of die-hard fans will once again flock to the MCG on Saturday and Sunday as the Melbourne leg of the tour continues.
“It was a disaster, only some blocked areas were empty,” said one concertgoer.
‘There are also capacity restrictions for the venue. The seats can’t be filled just because they’re there and empty,” another user reminded his desperate fans.
“(The stadium) was packed to the rafters, there were no empty seats when she walked in,” another social media user assured her distraught fans.
“From those seats you would see practically nothing.”
Others pointed out that some empty sections belonged to MCG package ticket holders, who were participating in a sit-down dinner until 7pm and before filling the stands.
“The MCC organized a pre-event dining experience so there could be a lot of people there,” said one commenter.
Thousands of die-hard fans will once again flock to the MCG on Saturday and Sunday as the Melbourne leg of the tour continues.
Swift will perform four shows at Sydney’s Accor Stadium next week.