Thousands of excited Swifties decked out in cowboy boots, glittery clothing and friendship bracelets have converged at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the first of her record-breaking Australian Eras Tour concerts.
US pop superstar Taylor Swift will take to the stage tonight, the first in a series of shows expected to draw the biggest audiences of her career.
Crowds at the MCG are tipped to reach 260,000 across three nights.
The Melbourne shows will be followed by four sold-out concerts by the 14-time Grammy winner at Accor Stadium in Sydney from next Friday.
The lines were long at merchandise stores from early on today and fans have the green light to queue at gates for the ticketed event from 2.30pm (4.30pm, NZ time).
Stadium operators previously pleaded with fans who don't have tickets to stay away from parkland around the venue, over concerns people would gather and cause safety issues.
The Eras tour takes in every phase of Taylor Swift's career in concerts that run more than three hours, from her Speak Now album to Reputation and the more recent Midnights.
Fans spent hours queuing and waiting on websites to secure coveted tickets to the show, with a second last-minute release yesterday and the promise of further tickets being released on show days.
The concerts are expected to provide an economic boost for Victoria and NSW, with Swifties from interstate and overseas booking flights and hotels.
Melbourne's free tram zone has been extended to the MCG while extra train, tram and bus services will be running today, tomorrow and Sunday.
Concertgoers from regional Victoria were urged to make alternative arrangements as some V/Line rail staff staged another round of strikes today, but services returned to normal by late morning.
The area around the MCG is expected to be busy on concert nights with surrounding roads closed off in addition to A-League Men matches at nearby AAMI Park on two nights and NBL at John Cain Arena tomorrow.
SHARE ME