Taylor Swift's Fans Discuss Why Seats at Her First Australia Concert Were Empty

• Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" in Melbourne, Australia, drew a huge number of fans, marking her largest crowd ever.
• However, images surfaced showing empty seats, sparking fan disappointment and speculation.
• Despite this, Swift expressed gratitude to her fans for their overwhelming support during the tour.

Taylor Swift has been on her "Eras Tour" for months now. The tour, which started on March 17, 2023, is set to conclude on December 8, 2024. Fans have flocked to the Pennsylvanian-born singer's concerts.

The numerous fans who have attended Swift's concerts showcase her as an accomplished artist. The singer said she started training six months before her first "Eras Tour" show so that she could give her best.

"I wanted to be so over-rehearsed that I could be silly with the fans, and not lose my train of thought," she noted. Swift, whose parents have always supported her, showcased her commitment to her artistry and fan base during an interview following her selection as TIME's Person of the Year for 2023.

The pop star's phenomenal recognition was followed by another milestone. In 2024, IFPI, the organization representing the recorded music industry worldwide, announced Swift as the winner of IFPI's 2023 Global Recording Artist of the Year Award. The recognition designated Swift as the top-selling global recording artist of the year.

The singer, who has bagged 14 Grammy Awards, including four Album of the Year Awards, recently brought her incredible "Eras Tour" concert to Melbourne, Australia.

Taylor Swift broke her own record when she performed in front of these people on February 16, 2024, as they were her largest crowd ever. The singer, who is currently dating Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce, came on the stage at 7 p.m. and introduced herself before she began the show.

The singer was amazed by the number of people who attended the show. She expressed, "Losing my mind at there being 96,000 people here. This is the biggest show that we've ever done. I'm fully starstruck by the fact so many people wanted to hang out with us on a Friday night in Melbourne!"

Still, James Anderson, a former commercial radio announcer for the Triple M Network, posted a series of images on Facebook revealing that nearly two whole sections of the stadium were unoccupied during the performance.

The images also depicted numerous empty seats dispersed throughout the stands. Clips for the "Eras Tour" in Melbourne also showed empty seats scattered in the stands as Swift performed.

Fans reacted to videos and images showing empty seats at the "Eras Tour" in Melbourne, with some writing, "I wanna buy all those empty seats." "What the actual!! I could be sitting there!!! Who forgot to give the tickets away," wrote a disappointed fan. "Why didn't they just let us sit there!!!" a fan concurred.

Another fan groaned, "The empty seats!!! 😱😭." Other fans suggested that maybe the seats were empty due to "restricted vision." Still, a fan lamented that people who were scammed and sold fake tickets could have been given those "so many vacant seats."

"Plenty of empty seats in blocks M19 & M20. What's the go?" a concerned fan asked. Fans who had money but missed out on tickets claimed that the "empty seats" were due to missed flights and people falling sick.

Fans who attended the show were quick to inform others that by the time Swift began performing, all seats were filled. Other fans said the empty seats were due to capacity restrictions for the venue and that nothing would be visible from the empty seats at the back.

An angry user accused Swift of trying to spin the empty seats. "Y'all really think that 1 person who vomited caused these empty seats in several levels of the stadium?" asked the user. The user added that the singer was counting even empty seats as part of the 96,000 attendees.

As much as some fans said they would be okay to sit on the empty seats at the back of the stage, one fan shared their disappointment at having one such seat. The fan expressed, "POV: You pay $800 per ticket for VIP Taylor Swift tickets and you can't see the stage😭😭." Attendees seated on the venue floor also admitted to having only a hindered view of Swift.

The "Eras Tour" was also faced with tragedy when a Queensland family traveling to the Swift concert got into an accident. One daughter, 16, was killed and another daughter, 10, was placed in an induced coma after a terrible crash in regional NSW.

The accident occurred when two vehicles crashed on Dunedoo Rd, Ballimore, about 30 kilometers northeast of Dubbo, at about 6 p.m. on February 15, 2024. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family deal with medical costs.

Swift is thankful despite the empty seats saga and the tragedy that surrounded her tour in Australia. After the Melbourne leg of the "Eras Tour," Swift expressed her gratitude to fans, saying, "What do I even say to you after over 288,000 of you came and danced with us in the last 3 nights? That was unforgettable."

The talented award-winning singer added that her audience reached an exceptional level. She thanked them for the memories made during the weekend and mentioned revisiting the recollections frequently.