Taylor Swift kicked off the Sydney leg of her Eras Tour last night, performing to 81,000 fans at Accor Stadium. 

While the concert was threatened by severe weather warnings and an evacuation pre-show, that didn’t stop Swifties from attending the big night, as well as a few famous faces. 

Just a few minutes before Swift took to the stage, an array of A-listers were seen taking their seats in the VIP section of the venue, including a Kiwi icon. 

Attending the show was none other than Kiwi film-maker Taika Waititi, along with his wife Rita Ora. 

The pair grabbed a picture with the Blank Space singer pre-show, before heading into the crowd to sing and dance the night away. 

Waititi could be seen wearing peach-coloured jacket, while his belle Ora wore a black dress paired with a baseball cap. Of course, the couple were both decked out with friendship bracelets, a popular tradition that has emerged at Swift’s concerts. 

Also in attendance were Aussie film director Baz Luhrmann, actress Toni Collette and Swift’s NFL boyfriend Travis Kelce, who recently won the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs. 

However, there was one attendee who came as a surprise to many a Swift fan. 

Fans of the Karma songstress flooded social media, pointing out that none other than Katy Perry was in the audience. 

“Not to be dramatic but Katy Perry being at the Eras Tour in Sydney is too much pop legendness to handle in one night,” one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 

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And why is Perry’s appearance such a surprise to social media users? Well, a few years ago, she and Swift had beef. 

Swift explained the feud to Rolling Stone in 2014, alleging Perry “did something so horrible” and the pair were “straight-up enemies.” 

She went on: “And it wasn’t even about a guy! It had to do with business. She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me. And I’m surprisingly non-confrontational - you would not believe how much I hate conflict. So, now I have to avoid her. It’s awkward, and I don’t like it.” 

Perry’s shock attendance at the show gave Sydney a genuine pop cultural moment when Swift performed her 2015 hit Bad Blood, which was allegedly written about the I Kissed A Girl songstress. 

According to news.com.au, Perry could be seen bopping along to the song, with no hard feelings towards the pop superstar. 

Taylor Swift performs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on February 16 in Melbourne, Australia. Photo / Getty Images 

Bad weather 

Swift took to the stage at 7.50pm (9.50pm NZT) at Accor Stadium in Olympic Park in Sydney’s west in a balmy 30C after the city sweltered in 36C heat for most of Friday afternoon. 

Heavy rain and lightning just before 6pm forced parts of the arena to be temporarily evacuated and prompted the cancellation of support act Sabrina Carpenter. 

But the bad weather passed in time for Swift’s arrival on stage, slightly after the 7.30pm scheduled start time. 

Many “Swifties”, some clad in sparkly official merchandise, had headed early to Olympic Park ahead of gates opening at 4.30pm for the Eras Tour. 

Swift fan Sophia Nott, 19, said being stopped from entering the venue due to wet weather had not dampened spirits among her friends in the show’s lead-up. 

“We’re super excited, everyone’s very excited, everyone’s starting to exchange friendship bracelets,” Nott said.