Taylor Swift kicks off the n leg of her Eras tour in a matter of days and excitement is building among her dedicated Swifties.
But with the prices of flights and accommodation options soaring in Sydney and Melbourne ahead of her shows, fans are making drastic decisions so they can have the best experience.
Fans who don’t live in Sydney or Melbourne are considering commuting to the cities via private jets.
Flight Centre have revealed commercial flights from Brisbane to Melbourne cost approximately $569 for the February 16 show.
The following week, the same route drops dramatically to $118.
Taylor Swift kicks off the n 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’ve even seen some travellers opting for a private charter flight to get to the concert as a result,’ Flight Centre Travel Group global leisure CEO James Kavanagh told news.com.au.
‘While it may seem extreme, we’re not surprised to see people opting for private flights through our charter aircraft company AVMIN and we’ve had bookings for both Taylor’s Sydney and Melbourne shows.’
Estimated to seat 86,000 people a night, the MCG in Melbourne will be packed across February 16 to February 18.
Taylor will then jet to Sydney for four sold-out shows at Accor Stadium from February 24 to February 26.
Meanwhile, fans have been coming up with bizarre ‘hacks’ to maximise their experience at the concerts, including one very gross suggestion.
But with the prices of flights and accommodation options soaring in Sydney and Melbourne ahead of her shows, fans are making drastic decisions so they can have the best experience
‘Commercial flights and accommodation are at a premium and we’ve even seen some travellers opting for a private charter flight to get to the concert as a result,’ Flight Centre Travel Group global leisure CEO James Kavanagh said
One Melbourne ticket holder posted to a fan forum suggesting ‘adult diapers’ might be a good idea to ensure they don’t miss any songs while waiting in line for the restroom.
‘A bit of a silly question, going to Melbourne N1. Is anyone considering wearing an adult diaper? I just REALLY don’t want to miss a second of it,’ the anonymous post asked.
Organisers of the tour are also concerned about the 15,000 fans who are estimated to arrive at the pop star’s sold-out shows despite not having tickets.
Venues NSW has warned ticketless fanatics to stay away from Accor Stadium to prevent crowd management issues, The Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday.
A spokesperson said fans who missed out on tickets should not try to ‘soak up the atmosphere’ outside, as they likely won’t hear any songs anyway.
Meanwhile, Transport NSW coordinator-general Howard Collins said the city was ‘preparing for the inevitable’.
Estimated to seat 86,000 people a night, the MCG in Melbourne will be packed across February 16 to February 18
‘What we found with other popular music venues where people can’t get tickets, people do just turn up to sort of soak up the atmosphere, and you can’t stop them other than to manage crowds,’ he said.
‘We are not encouraging ticketless fans to attend, but part of our contingency plan is allowing for extra people who may be travelling who haven’t got tickets.’
But despite warnings from the NSW government, businesses are said to be rolling out the welcome mat for all of Taylor’s fans regardless of whether they have tickets.
Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou said: ‘Irrespective of their ticket status, Sydney must put up the welcome sign for the Swifties because they will all make a contribution to our city in some way.’
If you’ve missed out on tickets to the live shows you don’t need to worry. A new version of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour will be available exclusively on Disney+ from March 15th.
The latest version of the movie, which became the highest-grossing concert film of all-time, will contain five new songs, not previously seen in theatres or in past digital versions, so Swifties can experience the entire show even if they didn’t get to attend in person.