Taylor Swift kicks off the Australian leg of her Eras tour in a matter of days and excitement is building among her dedicated Swifties.
But with flight prices and accommodation options increasing in Sydney and Melbourne ahead of their shows, fans are making drastic decisions in order to have the best experience.
Fans who don’t live in Sydney or Melbourne are considering traveling to the cities on private jets.
Flight Center has revealed that commercial flights from Brisbane to Melbourne cost approximately $569 for the February 16 show.
The following week, the same route drops sharply to $118.
Taylor Swift kicks off the Australian leg of her Eras tour in a matter of days and excitement is building among her dedicated Swifties.
“Commercial flights and accommodation are at a premium and we have even seen some travelers opt for a private charter flight to get to the concert as a result,” said Flight Center Travel Group global leisure managing director James Kavanagh. news.com.au.
“While it may seem extreme, we’re not surprised to see people opting for private flights through our charter company AVMIN and we’ve had bookings for Taylor’s shows in Sydney and Melbourne.”
With an estimated capacity of 86,000 people per night, the MCG in Melbourne will be full from February 16 to 18.
Taylor will then travel to Sydney for four sold-out shows at Accor Stadium from February 24-26.
Meanwhile, fans have been coming up with strange ‘tricks’ to maximize their concert experience, including one very rude suggestion.
But with flight prices and accommodation options increasing in Sydney and Melbourne ahead of their shows, fans are making drastic decisions in order to have the best experience.
“Commercial flights and accommodation are at a premium and we’ve even seen some travelers opt for a private charter flight to get to the concert as a result,” said James Kavanagh, executive director of global leisure at Flight Center Travel Group,
A ticket holder in Melbourne posted on a fan forum suggesting that ‘adult diapers’ might be a good idea to ensure they don’t miss any songs while waiting in line for the toilet.
‘A bit silly question, go to Melbourne N1. Is anyone thinking about using an adult diaper? I REALLY don’t want to miss a second,” the anonymous post asked.
Tour organizers are also concerned about the estimated 15,000 fans who will show up to the pop star’s sold-out shows despite not having tickets.
Venues NSW has warned fans without tickets to stay away from Accor Stadium to avoid crowd management issues, The Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday.
A spokesperson said fans who missed out should not try to “soak up the atmosphere” outside as they probably won’t hear any songs anyway.
Meanwhile, Transport NSW co-ordinator-general Howard Collins said the city was “preparing for the inevitable”.
With an estimated capacity of 86,000 people per night, the MCG in Melbourne will be full from February 16 to 18.
“What we find in other popular music venues where people can’t get tickets is that people just show up to soak up the atmosphere, and they can’t be stopped other than to manage the crowds,” he said.
“We are not encouraging fans without tickets to attend, but part of our contingency plan is to allow more people who do not have tickets to travel.”
But despite warnings from the NSW government, businesses are said to be rolling out the welcome mat for all Taylor fans, regardless of whether they have tickets.
Business Sydney chief executive Paul Nicolaou said: “Regardless of the status of their entry, Sydney must put up the welcome sign for Swifties because they will all make a contribution to our city in some way.”