Taylor Swift fans from far and wide descended on Melbourne over the weekend and the nation’s major event capital made sure everyone’s wildest dreams came true by lighting up Flinders Street Station in honour of the artist’s visit.
The 14-time Grammy winning singer-songwriter performed in front of a personal record-setting crowd of more than 96,000 fans each night for three nights at the nation’s biggest stadium, the MCG, with thousands of concertgoers visiting from interstate or overseas.
Visitors were swept up with the city’s Swifty atmosphere, with one of Melbourne’s most iconic landmarks was emblazoned in midnight blue and touches of colour that paid homage to her ten eras.
Taylor Swift joined an illustrious club – artists who have played to their biggest ever crowds and created memorable Melbourne moments at the MCG – including Billy Joel’s one night only performance in 2022 and Ed Sheeran’s showstopping performance for 110,000 fans at the MCG in 2023.
Melbourne’s global standing as a major events city is known all too well and is cemented through Visit Victoria continuous efforts to attract and deliver the best major events calendar in the country.
This year has started strong with record breaking crowds at the Australian Open and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, an exclusive season of Groundhog Day The Musical, and NGV Triennial attracting fans in the thousands.
In the months ahead, visitors will continue to flow in with the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Melbourne Fashion Festival, and Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Visitors continue to choose Melbourne for events with data from Tourism Research Australia showing that Melbourne is the top domestic overnight destination for trips involving theatre, concerts and performing arts.
The “Welcome to Melbourne Swifties” projection on Flinders Street Station ran from dusk to midnight on 15, 16, 17 and 18 February and music was played at Flinders Street tram stops between Spencer Street and Spring Street from 1pm to 8pm on the concert nights of 16, 17 and 18 February.
Brendan McClements, CEO, Victoria, says, “Melbourne’s global reputation as a major events city attracts thousands of visitors to unmissable moments such as Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour – boosting our hotels, restaurants, and other businesses.Taylor Swift is the latest music star to enjoy a career-defining ‘Melbourne Moment’ and we are proud to see her setting a new crowd record at the MCG and generating even more momentum for our city.”