Graham Norton and Phoebe Waller-Bridge spotted before rumoured Swift wedding

Stars including TV presenter Graham Norton and Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge have been spotted arriving in New York ahead of pop star Taylor Swift's expected wedding to NFL player Travis Kelce.

Appearing on Norton's BBC chat show last year, Swift responded when asked by the host when the wedding would be: "Oh, you'll know. I was going to invite you to it." Norton also appeared in the music video for Swift's song Opalite.

Waller-Bridge was also seen in the city ahead of the big day, which is thought to be taking place on Friday at Madison Square Gardens. A rehearsal dinner is rumoured to be happening on Thursday at the venue.

While the guest list is unknown, Waller-Bridge and Swift have been known to socialise together previously.

Norton was photographed with his husband Jono McLeod at JFK Airport, while Waller-Bridge was also seen separately.

Waller-Bridge was among the attendees at Swift's Eras Tour in London in 2024, and hosted US sketch show Saturday Night Live in 2019 when Swift was the musical guest.

NFL San Francisco 49ers player George Kittle, singer Benson Boone and English actress Suki Waterhouse - they are some of the few who are reportedly going.

Selena Gomez and childhood friend Abigail Anderson Berard, who has been in multiple Swift music videos, are also expected to be there.

It is unknown if actress Blake Lively, who drew Swift into a bitter legal battle with Lively's It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni, will be invited. The case was settled in May.

Props including a grand piano, carpets and a box of mirror balls have been seen being taken into the arena, while "no parking" signs have been placed around the vicinity.

A forklift truck operator has also been spotted wearing a Swift t-shirt while working at the venue.

City officials confirmed to the BBC that someone applied for a street closure permit near the arena over the 4 July Independence Day weekend.

Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for the New York City mayor's office, told the BBC a permit was filed in early June to close roads around the area from 2 to 4 July.

The New York Times (NYT) first reported the news and stated that several players on Kelce's Kansas City Chiefs American football team had booked hotel rooms nearby.

Before the NYT reported confirmation of a permit at the arena, TMZ and other outlets had been speculating that Madison Square Garden, a 22,000-seat arena that is used mainly for large concerts and is also home to the New York Knicks basketball team, would host wedding celebrations.

The NYT has not explicitly said the arena event is a wedding, but said that it is a celebration that could be related to the couple's nuptials.

It comes after an unnamed law enforcement official, briefed on the security plans, confirmed the wedding plans to the Associated Press (AP), saying they had been warned about an influx of Swifties (Swift's fans).

Mickey Blank, a celebrity photographer who has been working in New York for over 10 years, told BBC Newsbeat that Madison Square Garden is currently surrounded by members of the press but there's not actually much to see.

Despite rumours of a red-carpet reception for the expected A-list guests, Blank said she's not expecting a parade of big-name arrivals.

"It's like Pentagon-level secrecy," she said.

"You cannot go in, you cannot see anything."

"They have an underground parking lot. All the high-profile guests are expected to arrive underground."

The same applies to seeing Swift herself.

"Your chances of seeing Taylor Swift are, like, lower than zero," she said.

She added that one of the biggest challenges facing those preparing the venue will be the event that was just staged there.

Blank attended a darts championships at the arena earlier this week, filled with beer-drinking fans, many dressed in costume.

"The floor was so sticky, I could barely move," she said.

"So I cannot imagine the preparation that goes into that from the darts championship."

At a press conference on Wednesday, New York's mayor Zohran Mamdani said in response to a question about the wedding: "We are fully prepared, there isn't anything to share beyond that."

In a post on social media giving advice about dealing with the heatwave in the city, Mamdani told them to stay cool, "especially if you're (hypothetically) having your wedding at MSG this weekend".

The date 4 July is apparently a favourite national holiday of Swift's, which she has previously celebrated by throwing big parties.

Swift announced her engagement to the Kansas City Chiefs player in a joint Instagram post in August last year.