The concert that everyone’s been talking about has finally made its way to Sydney, with Swifties from all over the world gearing up for the next four nights of The Eras Tour at Accor Stadium. And some of Taylor Swift’s biggest fans are right here in Penrith.
Glenmore Park local Emily Catt has been a Taylor Swift fan since she was six, and has attended every tour since ‘Speak Now’.
Though being able to say your idol knows your name seems like a pipe dream for even the most dedicated fans, Catt can’t relate, with Swift herself interacting with a number of posts on a fan page she’s run since she was in Year 8 at school.
“It made my life, it was crazy to think she knew who I was,” she said.
Catt’s fan page @imreadyforittay is followed by Swift’s management team Taylor Nation, along with over 59,000 other Swifties on Instagram.
After attending shows in Melbourne with her younger sister Hayley, the duo will be backing it up in Sydney in hopes of hearing their dream surprise songs, ‘Today Was a Fairytale’ and ‘Sparks Fly’.
31-year-old Winny Tang is sharing those high hopes, having performed ‘Sparks Fly’ whilst doing cheerleading stunts with her then-boyfriend on ‘Australia’s Got Talent’ back in 2013, then walking down the aisle to ‘Today Was a Fairytale’ years later when she married him.
Up until she passed, Tang attended Swift’s concerts with her mum, giving an even more special meaning to her music.
“Every time I do go to one of Taylor’s concerts, I do think about my mum, because she was there for my very first one,” she said.
This time around, Tang will be attending with her brother, who loves Swift just as much as she does.
Tang’s sister-in-law Desiree Robinson will also be attending, marking her first Taylor Swift concert ever.
“I’m just waiting for that initial moment when she comes out, I feel like tears will flow!” she said.
The Eras Tour will also be St Marys super fan Te Buda’s first Taylor Swift concert. She’ll be attending Friday’s show with her 13-year-old sister Annelise and their mum, but with Annelise requiring accessible tickets, scoring them was no easy feat.
According to Te, after missing out on tickets in the original sales, they had to wait three weeks for a representative from Ticketek to call them to let them know they would be attending, ultimately filling the trio with happiness and relief.
“I promised [Annelise] that I would take her to see Taylor Swift, and then the fact that I couldn’t was really sad,” she said.
“Then, that call back was such a relief.”
Annelise will be wearing a ‘1989’-inspired outfit, and Te a ‘Reputation’ bodysuit replica, made by local business Sew Wilde Creations.
Kingswood local Charlotte Hensen will also be wearing a replica outfit, however she took the creation of it into her own hands.
Hensen has been a fan of Swift’s for over a decade thanks to her mum, who took her to CMC Rocks the Snowys in 2009. With no real sewing experience behind her, she started making replica outfits in 2012, inspired by her love of the iconic purple dress from the ‘Speak Now’ tour.
“I saw it in photos that other people were sharing on Taylor Connect. She had these gorgeous white lace gloves, and she had her hair curled and pulled back into a ponytail, and I just thought, ‘I need that dress’,” she said.
“Me, my mum and my nan got together and hand sewed the dress, and that was the start of everything.”
Hensen has worn a handmade replica outfit for every tour since, her collection including everything from the rip apart marching band ensemble from the ‘Fearless’ tour to the iconic green ‘Reputation’ tour jacket.
After attending all three Melbourne shows last weekend, which saw her score her dream surprise song in ‘Come Back…Be Here’, she’ll also be attending Monday’s Sydney show.
As a veteran Swiftie, Hensen said she’s loving seeing people start to make and wear replica outfits for The Eras Tour, and fall in love with Swift the way she did all those years ago.
“The community has been stronger than ever this tour, and it’s just been absolutely incredible to see it go from what it was back at the start of her career to what it’s grown to now,” she said.
“Seeing the younger generations of fans at the shows on the weekend also got me a bit emotional, because that was me 14 or 15 years ago!”
One ‘Baby Swiftie’ who will be attending The Eras Tour this weekend is eight-year-old Ava Rama.
According to Ava, she’s been a Swiftie for two-and-a-half-years, naming ‘Cruel Summer’ and ‘Don’t Blame Me’ as her favourite songs.
She’ll be donning a ‘Speak Now’-inspired outfit, which happens to also be her favourite colour, when she heads to Accor Stadium this Friday with her mum, complete with friendship bracelets made with the help of her brother’s girlfriend.
Having received her tickets for Christmas, Ava said she can’t wait for the show.
“I’m really excited to sing the songs and to see Taylor,” she said.
Cassidy Pearce
Cassidy Pearce is a news and entertainment journalist with The Western Weekender. A graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, she has previously worked with Good Morning Macarthur and joined the Weekender in 2022.