One Friday morning… well to be more exact 30th of June, every Swiftie woke up at sunrise racing to their computers to be the first few fans to get their hands on Taylor Swift’s Era’s tour tickets. This was the day that many Aussie Swifties went through BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS to see her long-anticipated concert.
To maximise their chances, fans logged in from multiple devices and connected to the Wi-Fi ready to go to secure tickets. Friends and families logged in from different households purchasing tickets if they were lucky enough for each other. Evening out the expenses for ticket purchases were the last priority for many fans until they had finally fulfilled their dreams to see T-Swift in person.
Numerous fans were ferocious when they sat in the lounge for hours waiting for their turn to get tickets only to get beaten by people procuring tickets within 30 minutes. It was then revealed by Ticketek that its booking system was not actually a queue but more likely a lottery. Fans were picked at random so there was not any advantage for fans to jump on hours before. According to Ticketek, this was because of the rise in hacking technology which resulted in the use of such system to prevent boys from snapping up all the tickets.
Just under two hours after the floodgates opened, Frontier Touring announced that allocation was all but exhausted. Because of such demand, it was announced both Sydney and Melbourne would receive an extra show each to ease the unprecedented demand for tickets. Presale tickets were sold out after 4 million users vied to secure the 450,000 tickets that were up for sale. Adding 180,000 more sale tickets for Australians to buy and further broadening the chances for other states to come and see Swift in concert. This move created a boost in sales for Australian Airlines as people even from Melbourne, Sydney and other states booked travel for their respective show tickets.
During the sale craze, social media blew up with influencers and users posting their success in securing tickets and creating conversations based on whether their friends got tickets or not. Fans continue to closely follow Taylor’s social media keeping themselves up to date with news on her arrival in Australia.
The millions of swifties that missed out on purchasing tickets have surely been heartbroken but there may be a chance for them in the future with watching her concert virtually.
