Swifties are set to crowd Accor Stadium late next month when Taylor Swift flies into Sydney following her Melbourne concerts.
But organisers are more worried about the 15,000 fans who are estimated to arrive despite not having tickets to see the pop star’s sold out shows.
Venues NSW have warned ticketless fanatics to stay away from the stadium to prevent crowd management issues, reported The Daily Telegraph on Sunday.
A spokesperson said that fans who missed out on tickets should not try to ‘soak up the atmosphere’ outside, as they likely won’t hear any songs anyway.
Meanwhile, Transport NSW coordinator-general Howard Collins said the city will be ‘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.’
It comes as fans desperate to buy tickets to Taylor’s Australian tour are being warned about a major scam after some of them lost thousands in a bid to attend the pop star’s concert.
Scamwatch, a website run by the ACCC to detect scams, said 273 concertgoers had so far been duped into purchasing fake tickets to Taylor’s Era’s Tour in February.
The competition watchdog has estimated that Aussies have lost more than $135,000 to the scam so far with that figure expected to grow.
ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said the scammers are using the ‘hottest ticket in town’ to steal hard earned money from hundreds of Taylor fans.
‘This scam is a low act, seeking to take advantage of fans, many of whom are young and are desperately trying to secure a ticket to make their dream of seeing Taylor Swift live come true,’ she said.
Taylor will perform in Melbourne on February 16, 17, and 18 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and will play four shows in Sydney on February 23, 24, 25, and 26 at Accor Stadium.
