Taylor Swift is about to perform seven shows in Australia as part of her Eras Tour - three of which are anticipated to be the largest crowds of her career. The Herald chats to one extremely dedicated fan who purchased her ticket on the flight over.

One Kiwi fan has gone to extreme lengths to secure her ticket to see Taylor Swift.

The popstar is hours away from the first of seven shows in the Australian leg of her Eras Tour and her Kiwi and Aussie fans have never been more ready for it.

Speaking to the Herald, Sophie from Wellington says up until yesterday she had her hotel and her flights but no sign of a ticket to any of Swift’s Melbourne shows - until an announcement was made.

Sophie heard a limited amount of tickets were about to be released at the same time she would be flying over the Tasman Sea. Thanks to in-flight Wi-Fi, and a lot of dedication, the lucky Wellingtonian bagged a ticket to Melbourne’s opening night.

“I found out online just before I boarded my flight yesterday that they were releasing new tickets and so with the [time] conversion it was like, ‘S**t, that’s during my flight but I have Wi-Fi’, so I was like, ‘I’ll just give it a go’.”

It was a move that paid off for the fan, who says when she got through to the checkout screen after the loading “bar of doom”, she realised she had secured an A reserve ticket and couldn’t help but burst into tears.

“I started crying on the plane because I was just like, ‘Oh my god’, like it’s so overwhelming to just get off the loading screen like the little loading screen where it’s just like the bar of doom so to see you go past it and actually load it in another screen it was so cool.”

Now waiting in the merchandise line hours before the show is set to begin, the fan was buzzing about the concert - admitting that she has been a longtime Swiftie. “I think I got my first CD when Speak Now came out - and I won it on the radio”, she says - another lucky feat.

And the track she’s most looking forward to seeing live? “I really wanna see Long Live, which is off the Speak Now album. I’m so excited to see that and I’m so glad that she added it to her setlist.”

Despite being here on her own, she’s not worried and notes that Swift’s fans are all “so kind”.

Taylor Swift fans are ready for what may be the biggest show of her career. Photo / NZ Herald

It’s not the only moment that has perfectly showcased fans’ dedication to the star ahead of her shows. Many flocked to Melbourne’s Private Jet Base in the early hours of Thursday morning trying to catch a glimpse of Swift as she touched down in the city.

Despite the nippy 14C temperatures and 12.50am time, news.com.au reported there was a large group of fans wrapped in blankets, carrying cardboard signs as they sat on the fence trying to spot the Grammy winner.

Elsewhere, the news outlet spoke to 32-year-old Melbourne woman Livvi Campbell who, in an effort to create the perfect Eras Tour outfit, revealed she had spent more than a year hand-sewing thousands of pieces of tinsel onto upcycled T-shirts.

Featuring colours referencing the singer’s hit songs like Bejewelled, she ensured her six different outfits were a direct reflection of the star’s music eras.

Taylor Swift performs as part of the Eras Tour at the Tokyo Dome. Photo / AP

Sydney fan Peyton Wilson also spoke to the outlet, stating she had spent her time leading up to the concerts “making people’s dream costumes come to life”. She had created more than 15 looks including a gold dress, to a whimsical gown similar to that of the one Swift wore for the Folklore album.

What is the Eras Tour?

Swift’s Eras Tour is her first in five years - and it is on track to become the highest-grossing tour of all time. Recent predictions published by the Washington Post anticipate the shows will make US$4.1 billion overall, with Time magazine reporting the tour grossed US$2.2b from the North American leg alone.

What makes the show so special is its 44-song setlist that takes fans on a journey of Swift’s “eras”, from her first album to her last - including Lover, Folklore, Evermore and Midnights, which she has never performed before.

Coming in at just over three hours, the concert is roughly twice the length of an average pop stadium show and is split into 10, non-chronological “eras” for each of her albums.

As it stands, the star begins with Lover (she performs six songs from this album), then moves onto Fearless (three songs), Evermore (five songs), Reputation (four songs), Speak Now (one song), Red (four songs, including the 10-minute version of All Too Well), Folklore (seven songs), 1989 (five songs), Taylor Swift (one song) and concludes with seven songs from Midnights.

Sabrina Carpenter will perform as her support act playing a set of 10 songs, which is expected to include Feather, Nonsense and Vicious.

Show Schedule

February 16, 17 and 18 - Melbourne Cricket Ground

February 23, 24, 25 and 26 - Sydney Accor Stadium

Lillie Rohan is an Auckland-based reporter covering lifestyle and entertainment stories who joined the Herald in 2020. She specialises in all things relationships and dating, great Taylor Swift ticket wars and TV shows you simply cannot miss out on.

Megan Watts is a lifestyle multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald whose passions include honest journalism, backstage band chats and doing things for the plot.