Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Friday at New York's Madison Square Garden and could last until 4 a.m. the next morning, according to a copy of a city permit obtained by The Associated Press. The application for a “Special Event at MSG” was approved Wednesday night by New York City’s permitting office, according to a spokesperson for Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Multiple people familiar with the plans have confirmed to the AP that the application is tied to the wedding between the superstar singer and the football player. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the events.
Pre-Wedding Festivities and Street Closures
The permit shows 100 guests will begin arriving at Madison Square Garden at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday for a “pre party celebration,” which officials described as an intimate rehearsal dinner. A full street closure will then go into effect near the Manhattan arena overnight as crews erect multiple entrance and drive-through tents, according to the permit. The “main event” begins at 5 p.m. Friday and can continue until 4 a.m. the next morning. Records show the larger Friday event can host up to 1,000 people.
Speculation and Secrecy Surround the Event
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. The couple has yet to confirm any details around the festivities. A representative for Swift has not responded to multiple inquiries, including on Thursday. 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.
Local Business Owners Express Concerns
“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?”
