The New South Wales environment minister has sought to assure Taylor Swift fans that the pop star’s Sydney concerts will go ahead next weekend, amid an asbestos scare at the precinct where she is due to perform.
On Friday, the day after a special taskforce was launched to aid investigations into sites where mulch containing asbestos may be present, authorities have conducted testing at a location at Sydney Olympic Park, where Swift is set to perform to about 300,000 fans over four days of concerts as part of her Australian tour.
Testing occurred on mulch on a median strip on a divided road on Friday, in a spot understood to be away from where the public would be expected to walk on the way to Accor Stadium, the 80,000-capacity venue where Swift will perform.
No traces of asbestos were found on Friday and a backup test is being conducted as a precaution, the minister, Penny Sharpe, said on Friday afternoon.
If the follow-up test finds traces of asbestos, the mulch will be removed in time for Swift’s concerts, Sharpe said.
“This will not stop Taylor Swift performing in Sydney,” Sharpe said. “Sydney Olympic Park Authority is inspecting mulch that came from the supply chain under investigation, that has been used on a median strip on a divided road.
“We are testing samples but, regardless, we can remove the mulch and remediate before Taylor Swift takes to the stage in the Harbour City.”
The NSW Environment Protection Authority, which has declared it is conducting the largest investigation of its existence, also said the asbestos scare would not affect the Blink-182 concerts set to take place at Qudos Bank Arena, also at Sydney Olympic Park, next weekend.
“At this stage, there is no sign of any asbestos in the mulch around the park,” an EPA spokesperson said.
“We will advise once those results are finalised. Nothing will disrupt the Taylor Swift or Blink-182 concerts.”
The testing at Olympic Park comes after the state’s asbestos controversy reached new heights, with numerous parks closed off due to mulch fears. Concerns for mulch at Victoria Park forced organisers to cancel the Mardi Gras fair day.
On Thursday, the premier, Chris Minns, said hundreds of sites across Sydney could be contaminated with asbestos, including parks, schools, train stations and suburban back yards.
A surge workforce of public servants and firefighters will assist the EPA as it expands its criminal investigation into mulch found to contain asbestos across Sydney and regional NSW.
The state’s asbestos crisis erupted in early January after the hazardous material was first discovered in mulch at the newly opened Rozelle parklands.
Additional reporting by Tamsin Rose and Catie McLeod
