The staggering prices of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour merchandise have been revealed as she prepares to kick off her first show at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The 34-year-old megastar arrived in style at the MCG – which has a capacity of 100,000 – on Friday afternoon – just hours before her Australian leg of the Eras tour began.
It marks her first tour Down Under since 2018 and thousands of eager Swifties descended on Melbourne’s MCG in excitement hours before the show.
And fans were keen to get their hands on merchandise as they queued at the outdoor stands to get their hands on Eras clothing and memorabilia.
The staggering prices of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour merchandise have been revealed as she kicks off her first show in Melbourne
Photos of the packed stands revealed the prices Swifties were willing to pay to get their hands on the coveted items.
Posters cost $40, while tour hoodies cost as much as $120 and T-shirts cost $65.
Water bottles cost as much as $40 and canvas tapestries were on sale for $55, with fans lining up before the shows to buy the goodies.
Fans were seen carrying bags full of merchandise on their arms as they excitedly walked to the venue for the epic show, fully equipped after purchasing the products.
Thousands of the pop star’s fans poured into the arena two hours before the show’s start at 6:30 p.m. in an attempt to avoid the long lines to get in.
Frontier Touring previously warned fans that there was “no need to arrive at the venue at 4:30 PM before gates open” because “all tickets have assigned seating.”
Photos of the packed merchandise stands at Melbourne’s MCG revealed the prices Swifties were willing to pay to get their hands on the coveted items
The highly anticipated show begins at 6:20 PM when Sabrina Carpenter takes the stage, followed by Taylor’s highly anticipated headline show.
Taylor will play three shows at Melbourne’s MCG on February 16, 17 and 18 before heading to Sydney for four concerts at Accor Stadium on February 23, 24, 25 and 26.
JJust hours before the show, Taylor was driven to the MCG in style in a convoy of eye-catching vehicles.
A procession of blacked-out Land Rovers were seen driving down Brunton Ave towards the venue’s underground car park, one of which carried the Shake It Off star.
The Taylor mania started when she landed in Melbourne early on Thursday morning at about 12.40am and was greeted by a legion of die-hard Swifties.
The Cruel Summer singer traveled in style aboard a Bombardier Global 6000, a luxury private jet that can carry up to 17 passengers.
Fans were seen carrying bags full of merchandise on their arms as they excitedly entered the venue for the epic show, fully kitted out after purchasing the products
Fans have been eagerly awaiting Taylor to take the stage on her first Australian tour since 2018, flocking to the venue early amid Swiftie mania
Taylor’s flight (VJT993) from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Melbourne became the most followed flight in the world, with nearly 1,500 of her enthusiastic fans watching the journey across the Pacific Ocean.
Taylor – who is dating Kansas Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce – Completely missed Valentine’s Day due to her travels and the whole romantic day in the sky.
She took off in Hawaii at 4:52pm local time on February 13 and didn’t land until the early hours of February 15 AEDT due to the 21-hour time difference, meaning she missed the big day.
But she had just spent a few days with her boyfriend Travis in Los Angeles, celebrating with him after won the N.F.L Super Bowl, before heading Down Under.
More than 600,000 tickets have been sold for her performances, and some fans have taken the desperate step of chartering their own flights to get to her shows, according to travel agency Flight Centre.
Just hours before the show, Taylor was driven to the MCG in style in a convoy of eye-catching vehicles
A procession of blacked-out Land Rovers was seen driving down Brunton Ave towards the venue’s underground car park, one of which carried the Shake It Off star
Thousands of the pop star’s fans poured into the arena two hours before the show’s 6:30 p.m. start time in an attempt to avoid the long lines to get in.
“Commercial flights and accommodation are expensive and we have even seen some travelers choosing a private charter flight to get to the concert as a result,” Flight Center Travel Group CEO James Kavanagh told news.com.au.
“While it may seem extreme, we are not surprised to see people opting for private flights through our charter aircraft company AVMIN and we have had bookings for both Taylor’s shows in Sydney and Melbourne.”
Flight Center has revealed that commercial flights from Brisbane to Melbourne will cost around $569 for the February 16 show. The following week, the same route drops dramatically to $118.
Tour organizers are also concerned about the 15,000 fans estimated to attend the pop star’s sold-out shows despite not having tickets.
Venues NSW has warned ticketless fanatics to stay away from Accor Stadium to avoid 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.
Families eagerly gathered at the MCG, dressed in their pink glitter outfits for the concert
After fans were told to wear their friendship bracelets or put them in a bag – instead of D-rings, Swifties were seen with their arms stacked on top of each other
A huge crowd had gathered outside the venue before the highly anticipated show
The Taylor mania started when she landed in Melbourne early on Thursday morning at about 12.40am and was greeted by a legion of die-hard Swifties
The Cruel Summer singer traveled in style aboard a Bombardier Global 6000, a luxury private jet that can carry up to 17 passengers
Taylor was greeted by Swifties wrapped in blankets
Her flight (VJT993) from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Melbourne became the most followed flight in the world, with nearly 1,500 of her enthusiastic fans watching the journey across the Pacific Ocean.
Taylor – who is dating Travis Kelce at the Kansas Chiefs – missed Valentine’s Day due to her travels, but just celebrated Travis’ Super Bowl win with him in LA
Meanwhile, Transport NSW coordinator general Howard Collins said the city was “preparing for the inevitable”.
“What we found at other popular music venues where people can’t get tickets, people just show up to soak up the atmosphere, and you can’t stop them except to manage the crowds,” he said.
“We are not encouraging ticketless fans to attend, but part of our contingency plan takes into account additional people who may be traveling and do not have tickets.”
But despite warnings from the NSW government, businesses are said to be rolling out the welcome mat to all Taylor fans, regardless of whether they have tickets.
Business Sydney director Paul Nicolaou said: “Regardless of their ticket status, Sydney should put up the welcome sign for the Swifties because they will all contribute to our city in some way.”