The staggering prices of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour merchandise were revealed as she kicked off her first show at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The megastar, 34, took to the stage for the biggest performance of her career as she sang for 96,000 fans to kick off the Australian leg of her hotly-anticipated tour.
It marked her first tour Down Under since 2018, and thousands of eager Swifties descended on Melbourne’s MCG hours ahead of the show in excitement.
The fans were desperate to get their hands on merchandise as they queued up at the outdoor stands to get their branded Eras clothing and other merchandise.
The staggering prices of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour merchandise have been revealed as she kicks off her first show in Melbourne
Photographs of the jam-packed stands ahead of the show revealed the prices Swifties were willing to pay to get their hands on the much-desired items.
Posters were priced at $40, while a tour hoodies cost a staggering $120, and T-shirts were priced at $65.
Water bottles were priced at a huge $40 and canvas tapestries were available to buy for $55, with fans queuing up ahead of the shows to purchase the goodies.
The Project also spoke to eager Swifties outside the MCG and asked them how much they had spent on merchandise, with some fans shelling out hundreds of dollars.
One fan said: ‘I bought a hoodie, I bought a shirt, now I’m a little bit bankrupt but it’s worth it!’
Another admitted: ‘All together we spent $390.’
Photographs of the jam-packed merchandise stands at Melbourne’s MCG revealed the prices Swifties were willing to pay to get their hands on the much-desired items
Fans were seen with bags full of merchandise on their arms as they excitedly made their way into the venue for the epic show, fully kitted out after buying up the products.
Thousands of the popstar’s fans swarmed the arena two hours before the show’s start time of 6.30pm in an attempt to avoid the long lines to get in.
Frontier Touring previously warned fans that there was ‘no need to arrive to the venue before gates open’ at 4.30pm as ‘all tickets are allocated seating’.
The hotly-anticipated show kicked off at 6.20pm when Sabrina Carpenter took to the stage, followed by Taylor’s epic headline show.
Taylor pulled out all the stops as she put on her usual high-energy performance for the 96,000 eager Swifties who flocked to Melbourne for the epic night.
While Swiftie mania has swept Australia in the lead-up to the concert, the night also marked Taylor’s biggest show ever as almost 100,000 fans descended on the MCG.
Posters were priced at $40, while a tour hoodies cost a staggering $120, and T-shirts were priced at $65 (pictured: huge crowds at the stands)
Despite already having performed at huge sporting stadiums across the US, the opening night of her Australian tour broke records, as she has never performed to a crowd larger than 74,000.
Reacting to performing at her biggest show to date, Taylor told the 96,000-strong crowd: ‘This is the biggest show we’ve done on this tour or any tour I have ever done!
‘That’s the version you get of me tonight, the version that is completely star-struck by the fact that so many of you wanted to hang out with us on Saturday night in Melbourne!’
As well as the massive crowds inside the venue, huge numbers also stood outside the grounds, despite not having secured tickets, in a bid to hear the epic setlist.
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.
Taylor pulled out all the stops as she put on her usual high-energy performance for the 96,000 eager Swifties who flocked to Melbourne for the epic night
Just hours ahead of the show, Taylor was seen being chauffeured in style to the MCG in a convoy of flashy vehicles.
A cavalcade of blacked out Land Rovers were seen driving down Brunton Ave and into the underground carpark of the venue, with one carrying the Shake It Off star.
Taylor mania began when she touched down in Melbourne early Thursday morning at approximately 12.40am and was greeted by a legion of die-hard Swifties.
The Cruel Summer singer travelled in style on board a Bombardier Global 6000, a luxurious private jet that can carry up to 17 passengers.
Taylor’s flight (VJT993) from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Melbourne became the globe’s most-tracked flight with almost 1,500 of her eager fans watching its trek across the Pacific.
Fans were seen with bags full of merchandise on their arms as they excitedly made their way into the venue for the epic show, fully kitted out after buying up the products
Fans have been eagerly waiting for Taylor to take to the stage in her first Australian tour since 2018, and flocked to the venue early amid the Swiftie mania
Huge crowds descended on the MCG as they got ready for the show to kick off
Taylor – who is dating Kansas Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce – completely missed out on Valentine’s Day due to her travels, being airborne for the entire romantic day.
She took off in Hawaii at 4.52pm local time on February 13, and didn’t land until the early hours on 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 as she celebrated with him after he won the NFL Super Bowl, before jetting off Down Under.
More than 600,000 tickets have been sold for her performances, and some fans even went to the desperate measure of chartering their own flights to get to her shows, according to travel agency Flight Centre.
Just hours ahead of the show, Taylor was seen being chauffeured in style to the MCG in a convoy of flashy vehicles
A cavalcade of blacked out Land Rovers were seen driving down Brunton Ave and into the underground carpark of the venue, with one carrying the Shake It Off star
Thousands of the popstar’s fans swarmed the arena two hours before the show’s start time of 6.30pm in an attempt to avoid the long lines to get in
‘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.’
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.
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.
Families eagerly gathered at the MCG dressed up in their pink glittery outfits for the concert
After fans were told they had to wear their friendship bracelets or pack them in a bag – rather than on D-rings, Swifties were seen with them stacked up their arms
Huge crowds had gathered outside the venue ahead of the hotly-anticipated show
Taylor mania began when she touched down in Melbourne early Thursday morning at approximately 12.40am and was greeted by a legion of die-hard Swifties
The Cruel Summer singer travelled in style on board a Bombardier Global 6000, a luxurious 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 globe’s most-tracked flight with almost 1,500 of her eager fans watching its trek across the Pacific
Taylor – who is dating Kansas Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce – missed out on Valentine’s Day due to her travels, but has 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 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.’
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk