Taylor Swift The Eras Tour Sydney: Six things that surprised me at Taylor Swift’s first Sydney show | Review

I have a confession to make: I’ve never considered myself a Swiftie.

I like Taylor Swift’s music – and know a lot of it. But unlike what feels like the rest of Australia, I hadn’t been making friendship bracelets and counting down to the moment the megastar landed in the country.

In my life, I can’t recall a time where an entire nation had a buzz of this magnitude about one person. The Eras Tour feels a bit like Christmas, The Matildas in the World Cup and a royal visit rolled into one.

Except with cowgirl boots, friendship bracelets and a lot of sparkles.

READ MORE: Swift’s gruelling preparation for Eras Tour shows almost derailed romance

The hype around Swift and her tour, which is the highest grossing in the world ever, is nothing short of polarising.

Stadiums have sold out in hours of tickets going on sale and thousands of fans who missed out on tickets have been lining the gates only to hear her voice from outside.

So what is it about Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour that has the whole country in a frenzy?

Well, tonight I found out when I went to her first Sydney show, which was performed in front of a booming 81,000-strong crowd at Accor Stadium.

Here’s what surprised me most about the show the whole world is desperate to see:

1. The hype is real

The night started long before the show did. Sydney’s Central Station was lit in lilac and the superstar’s hits were playing through the carriages as we rode the ‘Tay Tay Express’ (Sydney’s trains were renamed for the night) to the stadium.

I genuinely got a spine tingle before I got anywhere near my seat.

Not even the torrential downpour and thunder, which saw the show delayed, was able to kill the mood. 

2. Swift is very charming

She’s one of the world’s most famous people right now, but she still makes a real effort to connect with her fans in between songs.

During the first Sydney show, Swift referenced her back-to-back visits to Sydney Zoo, in Western Sydney – an outing she and her crew “really loved”.

“Sydney is such a special place in my heart,” she told her fans.

3. You don’t have to be a superfan to have one of the best nights of your life

I was a little worried I wouldn’t know all the songs or have any friendship bracelets to swap.

But as Swift put it, the Eras Tour is a show for people “regardless if they listened to my music for 15 years or 15 minutes”.

In the end it didn’t matter that I didn’t know her full catalogue, I danced to every song and was mind blown by the theatrics. 

4. The stage show is staggering

From the movie-style video backdrops to the talented troupe of dancers, the hefty live band and the moving stage, the production is the best I’ve ever seen.

“Snow” falls from the sky during ballad All Too Well, (only Swift could make it snow in Sydney in February), there were smoke cannons for I Knew You Were Trouble and fiery blasts during Bad Blood.

Then there was a little house set with a smoking chimney, neon bikes and giant clouds. It’s truly mind-blowing.

Everyone was emotional during the performance: there were a lot of screams and even some tears during Champagne Problems.

Everyone knows the ‘Surprise Songs’ are coming: an acoustic set dedicated to a couple of numbers that don’t appear on the set list – and, for us, it was a double surprise. 

Swift used that moment to bring on her support act Sabrina Carpenter, whose own set was cancelled by the weather, for a rendition of one of Swift’s early classics, White Horse.

Finally, for the epic climax, the fireworks at the end went off like Sydney Harbour on New Year’s Eve.

It was all just jaw-dropping.

5. There are so many celebrities in the crowd

Pop princess Katy Perry was in the VIP area, alongside Rita Ora, perched just metres from Swift’s boyfriend, NFL star Travis Kelce.

It was in the final song Swift sent fans into a frenzy when she substituted lyrics in hit song Karma as a tribute to Kelce.

6. Taylor’s a dazzling talent in every way

Singing, dancing, playing the piano and guitar, she’s got talent as big as Texas and then some.

You know what I said about not being a Swiftie? I think I was wrong.