Pratiksha Ghildial
Reporting from New York City

On the streets around Madison Square Garden, some young women have been breaking into Taylor Swift songs - standing atop a scaffolding and taking photos of the cars going in.

“It’s a moment when even if you don’t care about Travis and Taylor, you have to be here," says Alexandra Dinomite, who thinks Swift is the closest the US has to royalty.

“God bless Taylor Swift and may they be very happily married. She closed the whole city!” says Mariana Nascente who is originally from Brazil but now lives in New York City.

Fellow Brazilian Jamile Lanjoni says she is so excited to live in this city right now because a lot of things are happening, including the World Cup.

Sakshi Venkatraman
US reporter in Manhattan

It’s quietened down a bit outside Madison Square Garden as the last of the black SUVs have now departed the arena. There may be more arrivals still - I’ve just seen former Chiefs player Isaiah Pacheco walk in on foot. But overall it seems like the guests are here.

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

Image source, Reuters

A strong Manhattan breeze is upsetting some of the security arrangements at Madison Square Garden.

A gust blew back the privacy curtains, revealing a very cheery looking Jimmy Fallon arriving for the ceremony.

More celebrities have been spotted outside Madison Square Garden, including actor Hugh Grant, as well as US actors Ethan Hawke and Jason Sudeikis.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Floyd Cush
Reporting from New York City

We’ve hit the reported start time of the festivities of 17:00 EST (22:00 BST) and SUVs are still lined up along 7th Avenue waiting to drop off guests at Madison Square Garden.

Some guests rolled down their tinted windows to capture the media spectacle here and others ditched their rides and walked up to the venue.

The sun has finally dipped beneath a skyscraper giving us a small reprieve from the scorching temperatures.

Sakshi Venkatraman
US reporter in Manhattan

I just spoke to the manager of a local shop which sells New York City memorabilia right across from Madison Square Garden. “I have no idea what is going on,” he says of the chaos and blocked streets outside. He tells me that this is normally a busy time for the business, with the large tourist crowd in Midtown stopping by to purchase souvenirs. “Normally we get a lot of customers,” he said. “Today is less than usual.”

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

Taylor Swift invited BBC Radio 1's Greg James to her wedding live on his radio show last October. My colleagues at the station have been busily checking his holiday schedule ever since...

But doubts were raised he could attend the bash this weekend, because he was due to take part in the Crossed Wires podcast festival in Sheffield.

He was there last night, on stage with his friend Alice Levine. On Radio 1 this morning, she confirmed he'd gone out drinking afterwards. But this morning? No-one could get hold of him.

He wasn't on air for his breakfast show. And when stand-in hosts Sam and Danni tried to phone him, his voicemail had been changed to a Taylor Swift song.

And then, just 25 minutes ago, he posted a photo to his Instagram story of a woman in a gown and a man wearing formal shoes.

The plot, as they say, is thickening like a stodgy custard.

Taylor Swift may be busy with wedding preparations, but she still has time to make it into the top singles charts.

Her new song "I Knew It, I Knew You" is currently charting in the UK top 10 of the Official Singles' Chart, after it was released it early last month for the movie Toy Story 5.

It is currently seventh on the chart, behind hits from Olivia Dean and Sam Fender, and Olivia Rodrigo among others.

Across the Atlantic, the song is at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, behind Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas"

Kansas City Chiefs player Chris Jones, retired US women's footballer Abby Wambach and author Glennon Doyle are among those who have been seen arriving at Madison Square Garden.

Here are some of the latest pictures from Manhattan:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Singer Benson Boone has just arrived for the event, making his way through the Madison Square Garden barricades and past security while wearing oversized sunnies,a dark suit and bowtie.

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Among the guests to shun the black SUVs are retired US football legend and Olympic gold medalist Abby Wambach and her wife, author Glennon Doyle.

Their connection to Taylor Swift goes back a long way... Swift invited Wambach onstage with her teammates during the 1989 tour, after the US Women's team won the World Cup in 2015.

Swift has also credited Doyle’s writing, including her memoir Untamed, with being a "huge help" during the Covid-19 lockdown, as she wrote her companion albums Folklore and Evermore.

Christal Hayes
US reporter

Image source, TheStewartofNY/GC Images

Tabloids and paparazzi across Manhattan have captured some of Swift and Kelce's potential guests ahead of the expected festivities.

Model Gigi Hadid was spotted getting into a vehicle with a floor-length pink sparkly dress. She was accompanied by boyfriend and actor Bradley Cooper, who was seen in a black tuxedo.

Outside a hotel near Madison Square Garden, Swift's longtime publicist Tree Paine was spotted getting into a black van. She was seen in a brown, off-the-shoulder, floor-length gown.

Pratiksha Ghildial
Reporting from New York City

It’s a balmy 38C at the cross streets between 7th Avenue and 31st Street from where we can see a row of cars waiting at the intersection.

Every now and then police will allow them to go inside one or two at a time.

Spectators stop by and ask each other what’s going on and I heard a man loudly say “ah, I see. Wow!”

Image source, Getty Images

Sakshi Venkatraman
US reporter in Manhattan - Favourite song: The Way I Loved You

Midtown Manhattan is extremely chaotic even on an average Friday. It’s home to offices, tourist attractions like the Empire State Building, and the city’s busiest transit hub, Penn Station.

But today, with the holiday weekend and a celebrity wedding coinciding, the area around Madison Square Garden is at an absolute traffic standstill.

Pedestrians and drivers are stuck behind dozens of black SUVs with tinted windows, presumably carrying some of the most famous faces in entertainment on their way to the rumoured Swift-Kelce wedding at MSG.

I was stuck behind all of the black cars for about 20 minutes before I decided to jump out of my Uber and walk the remaining few blocks to the venue.

The celebs in their formalwear probably don’t have that choice. I hope they’re not late to the function!

A group of four people - two men dressed in black tie and two women dressed in evening dresses - have just been seen walking through a security gate at Madison Square Garden.

They hold their phones up to a member of security at the gate who has a look at the screen before typing on a tablet, and they disappear behind a cordoned off area.

Moments later another couple, including a woman in a silver dress, arrive at the same gate and also have their phones checked.

Meanwhile, a queue of three black 4x4s can be seen travelling through a black curtain into a secluded area.

We're starting to see suited-up guests arriving at Madison Square Garden, where there's a considerable New York Police Department (NYPD) presence.

Temperatures could reach highs of 38C (100.4F) in the city today, and police officers already appear to be feeling the heat.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from New York City

It’s all happening here at Madison Square Garden now.

Black SUVs with tinted windows carrying guests are going through a few checkpoints, with women dressed in sleek black outfits there to check names.

The vehicles then go into a white tent, so it’s very hard to see anyone.

There is also now a group of fans who have gathered to watch it all.

Mark Savage
Music correspondent - (favourite song: Seven)

Image source, Reuters

A steady stream of cars is entering Madison Square Garden now. Each one approaches a black curtain before being ushered into the venue and disappearing into a marquee.

Tantalisingly, the curtains keep billowing in the wind, giving brief glimpses of the activity behind the scenes (mostly credential checks, I'm afraid).

Some guests are skipping the queue and walking into the venue. So far, however, none of them have been immediately recognisable.

Adam Goldsmith
Favourite song: August

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Long story short, here's a rundown of all the big developments around New York's Madison Square Garden:

• Swifties might remember how an Eras Tour clock ticked through the minutes before her arrival each night; there's a similar countdown under way at the MSG today, with events expected to get underway soon
• The exact nature of the event remains anyone's guess, but streets around the arena have been closed as our reporter on the ground describes a huge black tent to swaddle the arrival of star guests in secrecy
• While the word "Garden" might feature in the venue's name, some fans in New York are surprised at Swift and Kelce's decision to host a party in a windowless bowl - Canadian teenager Emily says she expected "more gardens, more flowers"
• What's indisputable, though, is the couple's connection with the Big Apple - our music correspondent describes the popstar's alchemy with the city
• As preparations ramp up, even the city itself is hotting up; Central Park recorded temperatures of 100F (37.7C) for the first time in 14 years on Thursdy as it experiences a prolonged and dangerous heatwave

While we wait for any sign of celebrity guests, you can familiarise yourself with tonight's anticipated itinerary - which includes a cocktail hour and a late-night reception.

Floyd Cush
Reporting from outside the arena

Lines of black SUVs are making their way towards the black tented entrance to Madison Square Garden.

Crowds have gathered on the other side of the street to try and catch a glimpse of potential celebrity guest arrivals, but security is very tight and from this angle it’s impossible to catch who’s going inside.