Taylor Swift Eras tour: Fans confused as to why there were so many empty seats during MCG concert

Taylor Swift made history by performing in front of the largest crowd ever on the first night of her Eras Tour in Australia, but some observant ‘Swifties’ have wondered why so many stadium seats were empty.

Fans lucky enough to score a seat at the sold-out show shared images on social media of hundreds of empty seats at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Taylor Swift took the stage just after 7pm on Friday evening for the first show of her Australian leg of the tour in front of a dazzling crowd of 96,000 concertgoers.

“My name is Taylor and I will be your host tonight,” she said as she kicked off the highly anticipated show.

“It drives me crazy to think there are 96,000 people here. This is the biggest show we’ve ever done.

I’m completely blown away that so many people wanted to hang out with us on a Friday night in Melbourne!’

But a disappointed music fan posted a series of images showing almost two entire sections of the stadium empty during the performance.

The footage also showed dozens of other empty seats scattered throughout the stands.

“A little angry to see so many empty blocks of seats,” she posted on Facebook.

“I hope they’re empty for a good reason.”

Some social media users suggested the footage was simply taken before the star took the stage and people arrived.

However, former Triple M radio announcer James Anderson shared footage of Swift’s performance, which showed hundreds of empty seats.

Photos just in: Empty seats spotted for tonight’s Taylor Swift concert. Ticketek will soon activate the queuing system,” he said in a Facebook post.

Swifties who missed the sold-out show expressed their disappointment, with many suggesting they would happily sit in seats with obstructed views just to hear the singer live.

“I sat behind the stage just to be there,” one fan wrote.

“I would totally sit in those chairs… They’re better than nothing,” another commented.

“I could sit there!”

One mother commented that the photos were “so sad when I almost had to sell my soul to unsuccessfully get tickets for my two girls, ages 11 and 10.”

Other Tay Tay fans were quick to ride with disappointed Melbourne fans, telling them it was a ‘full house’ by the time Swift took the stage.

“It was chocka, only some blocked off areas were empty,” one concertgoer noted.

‘Capacity restrictions also apply to the location. Seats can’t just be filled because they’re there and they’re empty,” another user reminded desperate fans.

“(The stadium) was packed to the rafters, no empty seats when she walked in,” another social media user reassured alarmed fans.

“Hardly anything would be visible from those seats.”

Others noted that some empty sections belonged to MCG package ticket holders, who took part in a sit-down dinner until 7pm before the stands filled up.

“The MCC has organized a dining experience prior to the event, so a lot of people can attend,” one commenter said.

Thousands of diehard fans will flock to the MCG again on Saturday and Sunday as the Melbourne leg of the tour continues.

Swift will perform four shows at Sydney’s Accor Stadium next week.