Ticketless Taylor Swift fans crowd the MCG as they desperately try to listen in on the first night of the megastar's Australian Eras tour as Swiftie mania sweeps through Melbourne
Ticketless Taylor Swift fans thronged the Melbourne Cricket Ground as they desperately tried to catch a glimpse of the megastar's Eras tour performance.
The global megastar, 34, kicked off the Australian leg of her Eras tour at the Melbourne venue on Friday evening, which also marked the biggest concert of her career.
As well as 96,000 people flooding into the venue, large numbers of Swifties also gathered outside to listen to the show, despite not having the coveted tickets.
Photos showed groups of fans stomping and singing along to the music outside the MCG and dancing on the grass as Swiftie mania swept Australia.
Swifties were also seen pressing their faces against the glass doors of the cricket ground as they desperately tried to catch a glimpse of the highly anticipated concert.
Ticketless Taylor Swift fans thronged the Melbourne Cricket Ground as they desperately tried to catch a glimpse of the megastar's Eras tour performance
As well as 96,000 people flooding into the venue, large numbers of Swifties also gathered outside to listen to the show, despite not having the coveted tickets.
The global megastar, 34, kicked off the Australian leg of her Eras tour at the Melbourne venue on Friday evening, which also marked the biggest concert of her career
Photos showed groups of fans eagerly trying to get as close to the venue as possible as Swiftie mania swept Australia
In addition to enthusiastic fans presenting their own show outside the venue, nearly 100,000 lucky fans were treated to seeing Taylor perform her biggest concert yet.
Despite having already performed in major sports stadiums in the US, the opening night of her Australian tour broke records, as she has never performed in front of an audience of more than 74,000 people.
Commenting on her performance 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've ever done!
“That's the version you're getting from me tonight, the version that's totally blown away by the fact that so many of you wanted to hang out with us in Melbourne on Saturday night!”
Fans scrambled to get last-minute tickets for the Australian tour right up until the first show, amid skyrocketing demand to attend the sold-out shows.
Security and police tried to sort out the crowd as the MCG was completely overrun
Fans were seen holding up their phones as they listened to the concert from outside the venue
There was a good atmosphere outside the arena as fans were not put off from taking part in the event by not being able to get tickets
Enthusiastic groups were seen outside the MCG getting involved in the Swiftie mania
Large groups had to be cleared from the venue doors amid the Swiftie chaos that swept Australia
The crowd partied outside the venue all night long as they stayed throughout the show
Despite being warned to stay at home, the MCG was flooded with eager Swifties who were unable to get tickets
It comes after tour organizers recently admitted they were concerned about the 15,000 ticketless fans estimated to attend the Melbourne and Sydney shows.
Ahead of next week's Sydney gigs, Venues NSW warned ticketless fanatics to stay away from Accor Stadium to avoid crowd management issues, The Daily Telegraph reported.
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.
“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,” they said.
Swifties were seen pressing their faces against the glass doors of the cricket ground as they desperately tried to catch a glimpse of the highly anticipated concert
The audience watched through the glass doors as they desperately tried to get some view of the performance
Fans got emotional as they tried to listen to the show, despite unfortunately not being able to get tickets
People set up camp outside the MCG, despite not being able to see into the huge sports hall
The crowd also gathered and sang along as they tried to hear the set list over the walls
It comes after tour organizers recently admitted they were concerned about the 15,000 ticketless fans estimated to attend the Melbourne and Sydney shows.
In addition to enthusiastic fans presenting their own show outside the venue, nearly 100,000 lucky fans were treated to seeing Taylor perform her biggest concert ever
Despite having already performed in major sports stadiums in the US, the opening night of her Australian tour broke records, as she has never performed in front of an audience of more than 74,000 people.
Commenting on her performance at her biggest show to date, Taylor told the 96,000-strong audience: “This is the biggest show we've done on this tour or any tour I've ever done”
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.
Paul Nicolaou, executive director of Business Sydney, 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.”
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.