Choose your friends wisely

One thing that Swifties were quick to notice when the Australian dates were announced is that there’s a limit of four tickets per customer per show. So basically,you can only go with three other people. Suddenly,group chats with 5 or 9 members have a whole new set of problems to contend with.

The best course of action here is to divide and conquer. All three nights go on sale at the same time in each city (Sydney at 10am and Melbourne at 2pm). Set up a spreadsheet – each member of your group is allocated a date to try and find four tickets for. Forget trying to sit in a whole group,but instead,break into groups of four and try to find seats in similar sections.

Sort out your accommodation ASAP

If you don’t live in Sydney or Melbourne,you might find it pretty tricky to get accommodation. Hotel prices have skyrocketed for those two weekends – capi-Tay-lism is real,folks!

Also,don’t bother with Airbnb. Even if you manage to snag a cheap deal,there’s a good chance your host will cancel on you as soon as they realise it’s the weekend of the Taylor show and they can relist their apartment for more money.

It happened to me two weeks before flying to Arizona for opening night,leaving us scrambling and having to drop an extra $1,000 on accommodation.

Live in delusion

Perhaps this isn’t a very practical tip,but I believe it’s an essential aspect of the Eras tour. I bought flights to Atlanta,booked a hotel room,and planned an outfit,all without having actual tickets to the show. I ended up getting floor seats in a last-minute Ticketmaster drop at 4:45pm,two hours before Taylor took the stage.

This might be harder to do in Australia,but I’ve seen it work out for many US concertgoers. And it all comes down to living in delusion.

Of course,it’s not always a happy ending. You may have seen the TikTok videos of ‘Taylor-gating’,the trend where ticketless fans are gathering outside stadiums to listen from outside.

But if you don’t get tickets,don’t give up. I firmly believe in buying the flights and making the plans,even if you have to spend a big chunk of your savings to get into the stadium.

Collect the confetti

As is the norm for pop concerts,there are a few confetti cannon moments during each Eras show. If you’re lucky enough to be sitting on the floor,bring a Ziploc bag and fill it with as much as you can. Pieces of confetti have been going on eBay for $100. I wish I was joking.

Plan your outfit now

Whether you’re going for the girl-at-Taylor-show uniform of a sparkly dress and white cowboy boots,or you’re opting to reference a niche lyric with your costume (a green dog,for instance),start planning now.

There’s been a massive spike in sales of rhinestone boots and cowboy hats. I saw the same gold dress and pink heart crop top – both from SHEIN – at every concert I went to.

If you want to be entrepreneurial about it,buy some cheap pink cowboy hats in bulk and sell them outside the stadium for $20 on the night of the concert,like I saw some frat bros doing in Nashville.

This is all to say:good luck. It’s not going to be easy. But the moment you get to hear the Cruel Summer bridge with your own two ears is worth all the pain,I promise you.

Getting tickets

For those eager to secure their tickets as soon as possible,presales begin on June 26 forAmerican Express credit card holders (opening at 10am AEST in Sydney and 2pm in Melbourne). It’ll only be open for 48 hours – or until the allocation is exhausted – so get in quick. If you only have a debit card burning in your wallet,fear not because Frontier Touring – Swift’s concert promoter – has you covered with thenext Members-only presale. This will run for 24 hours on June 28 at 10am for Sydneysiders and 2pm for Melburnians.

Finally,general release sales will be available viaTicketek on June 30 at 10am for Sydney and 2pm for Melbourne.

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