Bridie Caruana-Jervies,18,waiting in line for the Harry Styles concert.Credit:Paul Jeffers
Styles’ tour had originally been scheduled to take place in Australia in 2020,but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bridie Caurana-Jervies,18,from Geelong,was also waiting in line on Friday morning.
“I’ve been here since 6.30am,” she said. “I bought tickets to go to Sydney as well.[I’ve spent] too much money.”
Gates officially open at 5pm on Friday,and indie-rock support actWet Leg will begin their set at 7.50pm. Styles is expected onstage around 9pm.
There were similar scenes at his first Australian concert in Perth on Monday,with hordes of fans planning to camp days before in the hopes of getting a spot close to the stage.
Ahead of the concert,the stadium enforced a strict 8am rule,warning that those who disobeyed would be refused entry – but many began queuing at 4am. A Perth fan said that at 7.45am the venue told those lining up to go to another gate,which sparked a stampede.
“People were running,yelling,screaming,crying;people were having panic attacks,getting squashed,falling over,” she said.
More than 100,000 people are expected at Styles’ Melbourne concerts on Friday and Saturday. Transport authorities have encouraged those attending to plan ahead,warning queues outside Southern Cross Station after the concert are likely due to limited platform space.PTV announced additional public transport services before and after both concerts.
Volunteers from support program Red Frogs are also at the stadium to provide care for those spending hours waiting.
Marvel Stadium has been contacted for comment.