Taylor Swift’s Australia Dates To Coincide With Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Celebrations

A Cruel Summer may be ahead of us with the announcement of Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated tour coming Down Under in 2024 and the potential crossover with Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras events.

Last week, the anticipated Australian leg of ‘The Eras Tour’ was announced with dates for Melbourne and Sydney to be held in the second half of February 2024 – the same period many major Mardi Gras events including Fair Day are typically held.

For many queer Aussie fans, this may be a delicate situation. Star Observer spoke with a couple of Swifties regarding the potential dilemma. 

The Swiftie

Sydney student and Avid Swift fan Georgia Mayor explained how she would still aim to attend as many events as possible but will “prioritise” seeing Swift following The Great War on Ticketek. 

“The ticketing experience was incredibly stressful, but I was lucky enough to have been able to get tickets,” says Mayor who also made the purchasing event into a whole day – holding a listening party and even learning Reputation Tour choreography to help pass the time waiting. 

Mayor explains that this will be her first time being able to see Swift on stage, something she has anticipated for a long time and will not be not letting anything get in the way of her experience.

“I’m not worried about missing a couple of events because of the concert. I know I will make it to at least one of the [Mardi Gras] events,” she continued. 

Mayor hopes singing/screaming to ‘You Need To Calm Down’ live will be a good enough substitute for missing a couple of Mardi Gras events.

The Crossover Fans

Interstate fan Ryan McCorkindale, views the potential crossover event as an exciting opportunity to make the most out of his Sydney trip – travelling down from Queensland to see the concert.

“With both events happening at the same time it will make it my first Sydney trip, first Mardi Gras and first Taylor Swift concert,” he says with excitement. 

McCorkindale was lucky enough to purchase tickets for the Monday concert explaining, “I’ll have the whole weekend to enjoy anything Mardi Gras so I am not too worried. I would like to think I’d have time to go to events despite [potential] crossovers, otherwise, it’s all a new experience for me so l am not picky,” he continued.

No Bad Blood Here

Whilst there may be some concern for crossover, looking at past calendars there is some good Karma. With Mardi Gras events typically held during the end-of-February to early-March period, Swift’s tour dates should not interfere with larger wide-interest events. 

The Mardi Gras Parade is typically held on the first weekend in March which would be the following weekend of Swift’s Sydney Tour. 

Fair Day is typically held around mid-February and is seen as the kick-off event of the festival, with the potential crossover with the upcoming tour being minimal for people attending the Sydney shows.  

With over half a million people attending Sydney WorldPride and Mardi Gras earlier this year, many people, including international and interstate visitors, are expected to continue celebrating the annual event next year. 

Record-Breaking Demand For Swift Tickets

With this tour being her first time Swift will be back in Sydney since 2018 and having released six studio albums since then, many fans across Australia and internationally battled on Ticketek to see her.  

The two east coast cities are currently the only two stops for the tour in Australasia, with Ticketek seeing a record-breaking 800,000 fans waiting in online queues during the presale last Wednesday.

Swift has been an advocate for LGBTQI issues throughout her career, from her political endorsements in the US, calling out anti-LGBTQI bigotry in her song ‘You Need To Calm Down’, and more recently her Pride month message at her tour last month.

With Australian dates now officially sold out, the demand for tickets is still high, especially with the upcoming release of her re-recorded, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), coming out this week.