How a starstruck Aussie Taylor Swift fan scored the singer’s autographed bowler hat during the first Melbourne Eras show after getting scammed and bagging last-minute tickets
One lucky Taylor Swift fan was left completely starstruck when she scored the global megastar’s hat during the first show of her Australian Eras tour.
The singer, 34, kicked off her first tour Down Under in six years in epic style on Friday night as 96,000 fans flocked to the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the show.
And nine-year-old Milana Bruno was left tearful and overwhelmed with emotion when she was chosen to go to the stage and meet Taylor in an adorable moment.
The sweet encounter saw Taylor take off her iconic black bowler ’22’ hat, in keeping with her Eras tour tradition, and place it on the young girl’s head, much to her delight
A photograph showed the young Swiftie beaming with joy as she held hands with Taylor while being given the first autographed ’22’ hat of the Australian tour.
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Lucky Taylor Swift fan Milana Bruno, nine, was left completely starstruck when she got the chance to hug the global megastar on stage during the first show of her Australian Eras tour
Milana also exchanged a friendship bracelet with Taylor, and her mother Renata Bruno has since spoken about her complete disbelief over the surprise meeting.
Renata told the Herald Sun how Milana and her other daughter Claudia, 10, have been longtime Swifties and she had desperately tried to bag tickets for her kids.
She explained how she had tried to get the sought-after tickets all of last year – and even got scammed once in the process – before finally getting some in the last-minute re-release on Tuesday.
Renata said their seats were so far back that her two daughters were dancing on the seats because they could hardly see the stage, but were enjoying the show all the same.
But she explained how she thought they were in trouble when two venue staff members suddenly approached them during the show and told them to go with them.
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The singer, 34, kicked off her first tour Down Under in six years in epic style on Friday night as 96,000 fans flocked to the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the show
When she asked why, she recalled how the staff member grinned and told her to ‘trust them’, before they were led through the tens of thousands of adoring fans.
Renata admitted she was completely overwhelmed when her starstruck daughter Milana got to meet Taylor, telling how she was shaking during the shock moment.
She told the Herald Sun: ‘We had to step back when Taylor approached her and she gave Taylor a little friendship bracelet that she had made in exchange for Taylor’s hat.
‘Milana was just crying, she was just so starstruck, just could not believe it.’
Renata recalled how Taylor thanked Milana for coming to the show in the adorable moment, with the youngster breaking down in tears.
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Taylor’s debut show at the MCG on Friday marked the Cruel Summer hitmaker’s biggest show ever as almost 100,000 fans descended on the MCG
The proud mother insisted that Milana will not be selling the autographed hat but is planning on keeping it forever and treasuring the precious memory.
Renata said she had previously been hit by a scam in a desperate bid to secure tickets for the tour, and she isn’t the only fan to have been targeted by fraudsters.
Scamwatch, a website run by the ACCC to detect scams, said 273 concertgoers had so far been duped into purchasing fake tickets to Swift’s Era’s Tour in February.
The competition watchdog has estimated that Aussies have lost more than $135,000 to the scam so far with that figure expected to grow.
Some fans have claimed that their tickets have suddenly ‘disappeared’ or their accounts have been hacked, while others have fallen victim to online scammers posing as people who are selling tickets.
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Tens of thousands of Swifties once again descended on the MCG for the second Australian show on Saturday, with Taylor putting on another incredible performance for emotional fans
Fake tickets are being resold with scammers who claim to be selling tickets to the concert contacting fans on social media.
Taylor’s debut show at the MCG on Friday marked the Cruel Summer hitmaker’s biggest show ever as almost 100,000 fans descended on the MCG.
Despite already having performed at huge sporting stadiums across the US, the opening night of her Australian tour broke records, as she has never performed to a crowd larger than 74,000.
Reacting to performing at her biggest show to date, Taylor told the 96,000-strong crowd: ‘This is the biggest show we’ve done on this tour or any tour I have ever done!
‘That’s the version you get of me tonight, the version that is completely star-struck by the fact that so many of you wanted to hang out with us on Saturday night in Melbourne!’
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Taylor will return to the MCG for her final Melbourne show on Sunday night before heading to Accor Stadium in Sydney from February 23 to 26 for second stint of shows
Thousands of Taylor Swift fans swarm the Melbourne Cricket Ground
As well as the massive crowds inside the venue, huge numbers also stood outside the grounds, despite not having secured tickets, in a bid to hear the epic setlist.
Tens of thousands of Swifties once again descended on the MCG for the second Australian show on Saturday, with Taylor putting on another incredible performance for emotional fans.
Taylor will return to the MCG for her final Melbourne show on Sunday night before heading to Accor Stadium in Sydney from February 23 to 26 for second stint of shows.
More than 600,000 tickets have been sold for her Australian performances, and some fans even went to the desperate measure of chartering their own flights to get to her shows, according to travel agency Flight Centre.
