CELEBRITY
This is so ridiculous! Taylor Swift fan pays more than $800 for VIP tickets only to get an obstructed view of the stage
An unlucky Taylor Swift fan who paid an eye-watering sum for VIP tickets to the pop star’s show in Melbourne over the weekend was left furious when she realised she had no view of the stage.
The sad Swiftie revealed she paid $800 for the tickets, only for her view to be obstructed by a massive crew and sound mix tent.
Taking to TikTok, the fan shared a video of the view from her seats which were in section M20 between rows G, H, and I of the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
‘POV: You pay $800 per ticket for VIP Taylor Swift tickets and you can’t see the stage,’ the fan wrote over the video.
Her caption read: ‘Ticktek pls explain.’
@keelsandfriends Ticketek pls explain #taylorswift #taylorsversion #taylornation #taylorswifterastour #erastour #taylorswiftmelbourne #ticketek #ticketekaustralia #taylor @Ticketek Australia ♬ original sound – hairbyharleyy
The woman, who attended the concert with her sister, updated in the comment she was later moved and given a better view of the stage.
‘They moved us to another restricted area but thankfully better than our original view!’ she wrote.
‘Took an hour of talking to 5 different supervisors, but we could see the stage which was all that mattered.
‘Didn’t think paying for VIP would get us restricted seats.’
Fans were shocked over her experience.
‘My worst fear…How is it even possible…’ one user commented.
‘Yet I’ve seen people posting about $75 restricted view seats with perfect view,’ another added. ‘I’d definitely be requesting for a portion refunded.’
Taylor Swift made history performing to her largest ever crowd on the first night of her Eras Tour in Australia, but some observant ‘Swifties’ have questioned why so many stadium seats were empty.
Fans who were lucky enough to score a seat at the sell-out show took to social media to share images of hundreds of empty seats throughout the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Taylor Swift hit the stage just after 7pm on Friday night for the first show of her Australian leg of the tour to a staggering crowd of 96,000 concert goers.
‘My name is Taylor and I’ll be your host this evening,’ she said as she kicked off the highly anticipated show.
‘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!’
One disappointed fan posted a series of images revealing nearly two whole sections of the stadium were empty during the performance.
The images also showed dozens of other empty seats scattered throughout the stands.
‘A bit upset to see so many empty blocks of seats,’ she posted on Facebook.
‘I hope they are empty for a good reason.’
Some social media users suggested the images were simply taken before the star took to the stage and people had arrived.
However, former Triple M radio announcer James Anderson shared images of during Swift’s performance which showed hundreds of empty seats.
‘Pictures just in: Empty seats spotted for tonight’s Taylor Swift concert. Ticketek are firing up the queue system shortly,’ he said in a Facebook post.
Swifties who missed out on seeing the sell-out show voiced their disappointment, with many suggesting they would be happy to sit in seats with obstructed views just to hear the singer live.
‘I would sit behind the stage, just to be there,’ one fan wrote.
‘I would totally sit in those seats … They are better than nothing,’ another commented.
‘I could be sitting there!’
One mother commented the photos were ‘so sad when I’ve almost had to sell my soul to try and get tickets for my two girls ages 11 and 10 with no luck’.
Other Tay Tay fans were quick to reason with disappointed Melbourne fans, telling them it was a ‘full house’ by the time Swift took the stage.
‘It was chocka, only some obstructed areas were empty,’ one concert goer commented.
‘There are also capacity restrictions for the venue. Seats can’t just be filled because they’re there and empty,’ another user reminded desperate fans.
‘(The stadium) was packed to the brim, no empty seats when she came on,’ another social media user reassured distressed fans.
‘Pretty much nothing would be visible from those seats.’
Others noted that some empty sections belonged to MCG package ticket holders, who were taking part in a sit-down dinner until 7pm and before filling up the stands.
‘The MCC did a pre-event dining experience so a lot of people may be there,’ a commenter said.
Taylor has since departed Melbourne and landed in Sydney on Monday ahead of her shows in the harbour city.
The megastar will be playing four sold out shows at Accor Stadium over the weekend, with 80,000 people attending each night.