NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding will begin at 5 p.m. Friday and stretch until the early hours of Saturday morning, closing several blocks in the heart of Manhattan during the busy holiday weekend, according to a copy of a city permit obtained by The Associated Press and new details provided by police.
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.
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. Thursday evening, black sport utility vehicles were seen driving into a tented area, shielding views of who was going into MSG.
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.
The “main event” will begin at 5 p.m. Friday, per the application, with the option to continue until 4 a.m. the next morning. That party can host up to 1,000 people, records show.
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 U.S., sitting directly below the arena — will be heavily restricted, with transit users urged to use a separate entrance further from the venue.
The approval of the permit comes as city officials and Swift’s representatives have continued to stay silent about the festivities — angering some business owners and residents, who have called for more transparency around a private event that will soak up public resources.
A spokesperson for the NYPD did not respond to a question Thursday about the purpose of the street closures.
Behind the scenes, emails obtained by the AP show city officials have been aware of the wedding — and its impact on city streets — for nearly a month.
On June 8, the director of the city’s street permitting office, Dawn Tolson, emailed several City Hall staffers to discuss a permit application “in association with the T&T wedding,” an apparent reference to Taylor and Travis.
The application included a request for “full street closures” on July 3 and 4, under the subject line: “Wedding Bells Are Ringing.”
Mamdani, who previously said the city would have to cut back on large scale events this summer due to the demands posed by the World Cup and America250 festivities, has declined to discuss the city’s role in the wedding event.
“The NYPD will of course have a detail in place, but I’m not going to go into more specifics at this time,” New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Michael O’Brien, who co-owns O’Briens Bar and Grill across from the arena, said the city should do more to publicize the impact on local businesses — and that the newlyweds-to-be should foot the bill for any lost revenue.
“This is, in my opinion, ridiculous,” O’Brien said. “If they can afford to buy the permits, they can afford this big lavish ceremony, why don’t they just buy out the local businesses instead of having us adversely affected?”
But others seemed unbothered by the secrecy and precautions around the much-anticipated nuptials.
“She’s just so important in everyone’s life,” said Alyssa Heinen, one of scores of Swift fans who gathered outside the arena on Thursday afternoon. “We grew up with Taylor Swift, and just seeing her now find love — I feel like it’s inspiring to so many women. It’s so nice to see her so happy.”
Associated Press video journalist Joseph B. Frederick in New York contributed to this report.