Taylor Swift is kicking off the Australian leg of her Eras tour in just a few days and excitement is growing among her dedicated Swifties.
But as prices for flights and accommodation in Sydney and Melbourne skyrocket ahead of their shows, fans are making drastic decisions to give them the best possible experience.
Fans who don't live in Sydney or Melbourne are considering using private jets to commute to the cities.
Flight Center has revealed that commercial flights from Brisbane to Melbourne for the February 16 show will cost approximately $569.
The following week, the price drops dramatically to $118 on the same route.
Taylor Swift is kicking off the Australian leg of her Eras tour in just a few days and excitement is growing among her dedicated Swifties
“Commercial flights and accommodation are very expensive and we have even seen some travelers opting for a private charter flight to get to the concert,” James Kavanagh, Global Leisure CEO of Flight Center Travel Group, told news.com. ouch.
“While it may seem extreme, we are not surprised when people choose to fly privately through our charter airline AVMIN and we have had bookings for Taylor’s shows in Sydney and Melbourne.”
The MCG in Melbourne seats an estimated 86,000 per night and will be packed from February 16-18.
Taylor will then fly to Sydney for four sold-out shows at Accor Stadium from February 24-26.
Meanwhile, fans have come up with bizarre “hacks” to maximize their concert experience, including one very crude suggestion.
But as prices for flights and accommodation in Sydney and Melbourne skyrocket ahead of their shows, fans are making drastic decisions to give them the best possible experience
“Commercial flights and accommodation are very expensive and we have even seen some travelers opting for a private charter flight to get to the concert,” said James Kavanagh, Global Leisure CEO of Flight Center Travel Group
A Melbourne ticket holder wrote on a fan forum that “adult nappies” might be a good idea to ensure he doesn't miss a song while waiting for the toilet.
“A bit of a stupid question, I'm heading to Melbourne N1.” Is anyone considering wearing an adult diaper? I just REALLY don’t want to miss a second of this,” the anonymous post reads.
Tour organizers are also worried about the estimated 15,000 fans who come to the pop star's sold-out shows even though they don't have tickets.
Venues NSW have warned ticketless fanatics to stay away from Accor Stadium to prevent crowd control problems, The Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday.
A spokesman said fans who missed out on tickets shouldn't try to “soak up the atmosphere outside” as they probably wouldn't hear any songs anyway.
Meanwhile, Transport NSW general coordinator Howard Collins said the city was “preparing for the inevitable”.
The MCG in Melbourne seats an estimated 86,000 per night and will be packed from February 16-18
“What we've found with other popular music venues where people don't get tickets, people just come along to soak up the atmosphere and you can only hold them back to deal with the rush,” he said.
“We are not encouraging fans without tickets to attend, but part of our contingency plan is to accommodate additional people traveling who do not have tickets.”
But despite warnings from the New South Wales government, businesses are set to roll out the welcome mat for all Taylor fans, regardless of whether they have tickets.
Paul Nicolaou, managing director of Business Sydney, said: “Regardless of their ticket status, Sydney needs to put up the welcome sign for the Swifties because they will all contribute to our city in some way.”
If you missed out on tickets for the live shows, don't worry. A new version of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour will be available exclusively on Disney+ starting March 15th.
The latest version of the film, which became the highest-grossing concert film of all time, will feature five new songs not previously seen in theaters or previous digital releases, allowing Swifties to experience the entire show even if they didn't come you personally.