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Agencies

The first act of pop sensation Taylor Swift’s wedding to NFL star Travis Kelce kicked off Thursday, with a rehearsal dinner for 100 guests ahead of a star-studded extravaganza at the famed Madison Square Garden.
The billionaire singer and three-time Super Bowl champion, both 36, have kept fans guessing, but media reports describe an over-the-top celebration befitting one of the world’s most famous couples.
The A-list festivities kicked off Thursday evening with an exclusive dinner for 100 invitees at the Garden, the storied sports arena in the heart of Manhattan.
A succession of SUVs, believed to be carrying guests, arrived at a privacy tent outside the Garden while fans buzzed around nearby for a peek at the action.

“She is the biggest thing in America – like she is our royalty, she is our queen, she is everything,” said Alyssa Heinen, 24, from Manhattan.
“We are just so happy that she found the love of her life and he happens to also be such a big deal that it feels like a royal wedding to us.”
A report earlier on Thursday said that Swift and Kelce were already married ahead of the celebrations.
The pair exchanged vows in front of a “tiny group of loved ones”, the New York Post’s Page Six said, citing unnamed sources. The outlet did not say when or where the nuptials took place, though it noted Swift’s private jet recently spent time in Nashville.
Swift’s publicist did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the singer’s publicity team on Thursday said that Kelce and Swift had donated US$26 million to several charities in New York and elsewhere this week.

According to a copy of a city permit obtained by Associated Press, the Madison Square Garden celebration is slated to begin at 5pm on Friday and could last until 4am the next morning.
The application – for a “Special Event at MSG” – was approved on Wednesday night by New York’s permitting office, according to a spokesman for Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Multiple people familiar with the plans have confirmed to AP that the application is tied to the wedding between the superstar singer and the American football player. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss the events.
The permit detailed a 100-guest “pre-party celebration” at Madison Square Garden at 6.30pm on Thursday, which officials described as an intimate rehearsal dinner.

A full street closure will then go into effect overnight, allowing crews to erect a “drive-through tent” next to a separate “entrance tent”, according to the permit.
Records show the larger Friday event can host up to 1,000 people.
Beginning on Friday afternoon, several blocks surrounding the arena will be off-limits to vehicles and partially closed to pedestrians, according to information shared by police on Thursday afternoon.
Access to Penn Station – the busiest rail hub in the US, sitting directly below the arena – will be heavily restricted, with transit users urged to use a separate entrance further from the venue.
Frenzied speculation around the wedding has built for weeks, intensifying in recent days as crews have been seen unloading equipment from trucks, including a large carpet.
City officials, meanwhile, have acknowledged they are preparing for a large-scale event at Madison Square Garden that will require an additional police presence during a particularly busy weekend.

But both Mamdani and his police commissioner have repeatedly refused to discuss the nature of the event – angering some nearby business owners and raising questions about the use of public resources to cover private security.
“This is, in my opinion, ridiculous,” said Michael O’Brien, who co-owns O’Briens Bar and Grill, which is located across from Madison Square Garden.
He said he was worried about losing business because of the pending street closures, which still have not been publicly announced by the police department as of Thursday afternoon.
“If they can afford to buy the permits,” O’Brien continued, “they can afford this big lavish ceremony, why don’t they just buy out the local businesses instead of having us adversely affected?”
Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Associated Press


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Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift kiss after the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas in February 2024. Photo: AP

An SUV believed to be transporting Taylor Swift arrives at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

A girl talks to the press outside Madison Square Garden ahead of a reported wedding between singer Taylor Swift and NFL player Travis Kelce on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce pose in Kansas City, Missouri, in January 2025. Photo: AP

A picture of Taylor Swift is seen at Madison Square Garden in New York on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

A truck is unloaded outside New York’s Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Photo: AP

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An intimate dinner at Madison Square Garden for 100 guests on Thursday will be followed by a star-studded main event on Friday


An intimate dinner at Madison Square Garden for 100 guests on Thursday will be followed by a star-studded main event on Friday.


Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce kick off wedding celebrations: ‘she is our queen’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}An intimate dinner at Madison Square Garden for 100 guests on Thursday will be followed by a star-studded main event on Friday

An intimate dinner at Madison Square Garden for 100 guests on Thursday will be followed by a star-studded main event on Friday