Taylor Swift’s Australian ‘Eras’ Tour Crashes Ticket Presale Website

Presale tickets for the Australian leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour went on sale this morning, leading to a digital avalanche of Swifties hellbent on copping their seats. But alas, American Express got snowed in, and many fans were left scrambling for tickets. 

ICYMI, Swift announced five shows for local Swifties last week, hitting Naarm/Melbourne and Eora/Sydney next February – she’ll play two dates at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and three at Eora’s Accor Stadium, and the first round of presales (exclusive to American Express customers in Eora) kicked off at 10am this morning (June 26). Taking advantage of the presale wasn’t as easy as everyone had hoped, though: the American Express website crashed shortly before 10am, and the only way to access the Ticketek landing page for ticket sales was through a link on that website.

For a short while, fans hoping to grab their ticket links were met with the following message: “We’re sorry. We are momentarily experiencing technical difficulties. We are working on bringing our services back online. For immediate assistance, please call the number on your card or statement. We apologise for any inconvenience.”

As one fan wrote on Twitter, this “doesn't bode well for the Ticketek general sale on Friday”.

I thought I'd check out how the Taylor Swift Amex pre-sale is going... they go on sale at 10AM and the site already isn't working. Doesn't bode well for the Ticketek general sale on Friday. pic.twitter.com/prk6QDvmuL

— Jordan Fennell (@jordaaaye) June 25, 2023

Thankfully, Swifties were indeed able to access the site shortly after 10am, and some fans have actually opined that the presale process was “soooo smooth compared to the US sale with Ticketmaster”. That being said, it turns out the presale is only valid for the top two VIP packages, respectively dubbed Karma Is My Boyfriend and It’s Been A Long Time Coming, and running at the respective prices of $899.90 and $1,249.90 (before ticket fees).

Both packages come with a commemorative ticket, a set of four exclusive prints, a commemorative tote bag, a VIP tour laminate with matching lanyard, and a pin/sticker/postcard set. 

Naarm’s American Express presale will start at 2pm today, with the second presale – made available to Frontier Touring members – will begin at the same times (10am for Eora, 2pm for Naarm) this coming Wednesday (June 28). Following that, general sales will open at the same times on Friday (June 30). Standard, non-VIP tickets will be available during the Frontier presale. You can see here for more info on the ongoing American Express presale, and here for both the general sale and Frontier presale.

Following the news that Swift would only visit Naarm and Eora on the Eras tour, fans in cities outside those areas took to social media to share their outrage. Politicians joined them, with Parliamentary figures in Boorloo/Perth, Meanjin/Brisbane and Kaurna/Adelaide all hitting out at Swift for dodging their venues.

Just today, though, we got a glimmer of hope that Swift might announce further shows Down Under: she’s just added three new dates in Singapore, sparking wishes that she might do the same for her fans in Australia.

The local leg of Swift’s Eras tour will mark her first time Down Under since 2018, when she hit four cities – Boorloo and Meanjin alongside Naarm and Eora – in support of her Reputation album. She’s since released four original studio albums (Lover in 2019, Folklore and Evermore in 2020, and Midnights in 2022) and two Taylor’s Version remakes of previous efforts (Fearless and Red, both in 2021).

A third Taylor’s Version remake album – a new take on her 2010 LP Speak Now – will be released on July 7 via Republic, as revealed at one of the Nashville dates of the Eras tour. Earlier this month, Swift shared the album’s full tracklist, sporting guest spots from Fall Out Boy and Paramore’s Hayley Williams. That news came shortly after Swift was named the second richest woman in music, with a net worth of $740 million.

Also this month, the Eras tour was hyped up by none other than Gwen Stacy (RIP) herself, Emma Stone. In a chat with Vanity Fair, the Hollywood heavyweight raved about her time at the opening date of Swift’s tour in Arizona: “The concert was pretty amazing,” she said. “I was lucky ’cause we’ve been friends for a really long time. I’ve known her since we were 17 and 18, so she hooked me up, which was very nice ’cause I know those tickets are impossible to get.

“She’s a wonderful friend. She blows my mind. I mean, the amount of sheer stamina to do three and a half hours and perform 44 songs and to maintain the extreme energy of the audience – I’ve never seen anything like it.”

TAYLOR SWIFT
‘ERAS’ 2024 AUSTRALIAN TOUR
with special guest SABRINA CARPENTER

Friday February 16 – Naarm/Melbourne, Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday February 17 – Naarm/Melbourne, Melbourne Cricket Ground
Friday February 23 – Gadigal/Sydney, Accor Stadium
Saturday February 24 – Gadigal/Sydney, Accor Stadium
Sunday February 25 – Gadigal/Sydney, Accor Stadium

Tickets: frontiertouring.com