It’s no longer a Cruel Summer for Sydney Swifties as the cultural phenomenon that is Taylor Swift’s ‘The Eras Tour’ is set to open in the city this Friday, amid unprecedented anticipation.

Performing the record-breaking show for four consecutive nights, Swifties are wanting Tay to Stay Stay Stay for as long as possible, and it looks like the genre-bending superstar reciprocates the feeling, saying at last night’s closing show in Melbourne: “Is it too much to ask that I just want to stay in Melbourne forever?”

Following three sold-out shows at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (total attendance 288,000) Swift is breaking her own records, selling out Accor Stadium four times over. She’ll play to 300,000 avid Sydney-Swifties. These numbers are some of the biggest Taylor has seen in her 19-year-long musical career, a testament to both her enduring and escalating popularity.

Stella Coppola, 19, from Liverpool, has made the friendship bracelets, got the cowboy boots ready to go and is feeling like The Lucky One when she attends the Eras Tour in Sydney on Saturday.

She said the tour is like a victory lap for Taylor adding: “It has been in the making since 2006.

“Taylor has made a show that not only engages audiences of over 95,000, but she also explores her own diversity as an artist that I don’t think could be matched by any other artist of this decade.

“The amount of times she has reinvented herself is truly eye-opening to the dedication she has to her craft and her ability to explore new sides of herself and her talent.”

Despite going to Swift’s three previous tours in Australia, Coppola said the excitement associated with The Eras Tour was “something I have never experienced before… it’s more than a concert, it’s the biggest and craziest celebration of success”.

“Taylor never fails to make a crowd feel special and that’s what makes her so brilliant, she will always find a way to connect,” she added.

Taylor Swift perform's at the MCG with flashing lights and fireworks lighting up the stadium

The closing act of ‘The Eras Tour’ in Melbourne on Saturday the 17th 2024. Image taken by Jessica Baer.

Whether you’re a Swiftie or not, the influence and impact the singer has had on many areas of culture and society is impossible not to notice.

With her recent attendance at NFL games, repping Kansas City Chiefs custom jackets and showing support for her footballer boyfriend Travis Kelce, the University Of Delaware estimates Swift’s attendance has added “$330 million in brand value… to the NFL and the Chiefs.”

With what many have dubbed ‘The Taylor Swift Effect’, her shows are altering city and national economies. Her three-day run in Melbourne was projected to generate $1.2 billion, with Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp revealing Swift accounts for a major part of the $3.3 billion in economic value the city gets from major events annually.

“Tay Tay is going to deliver a third of that over a weekend,” she said. 

In the US, her tour is projected to generate over $US5 billion ($7.7 billion) in consumer spending alone, and as it continues into Asia and Europe later in the year, the total economic impact globally is staggering.

Student Jessica Baer, 18, from Lane Cove, who went to the second night of the tour in Melbourne, said it surpassed all her expectations. 

“It was genuinely one of the best nights of my life. Taylor Swift and her fans have created this incredibly fun, safe and welcoming atmosphere for everyone to enjoy,” she said.

“It was so beautiful to see how much effort the Swifites put into their outfits, hair, and make-up as they celebrated different eras of Taylor’s music. And the show itself was incredible, Taylor’s stage presence is what makes you feel like you have been a part of something truly remarkable.”

If you’re still trying to score tickets, the only authorised reseller is Ticketek Marketplace. Good luck!

Main image by Bethany Alvaro.