Image source, New Heights podcast

Prince William has been announced as a surprise guest on Travis Kelce's New Heights podcast just hours before the NFL star's widely expected wedding to pop megastar Taylor Swift.

In a clip posted on social media, co-host Jason Kelce introduces the Prince of Wales as: "The six-foot-three prince from London, England... the president of the English Football Association, the vice-Royal patron of the Welsh Rugby Union, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Cornwall, the Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland, Earl of Chester and the Prince of Wales."

"That is quite an intro guys," replies William.

There has been no suggestion that either William, or Catherine, Princess of Wales, will be in attendance at Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift's wedding.

Image source, Reuters

Police have been putting up barricades around Madison Square Garden for several days and crews have been loading equipment and food into the stadium, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Starting at 13:00 ET (18:00 BST) the following streets are closed to vehicles:

• Seventh Avenue between 30th and 34th Streets
• West 33rd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues
• West 32nd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues
• West 31st Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues
• West 31st Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues

Meanwhile, the following streets will be closed to pedestrians:

• West side of Seventh Avenue between 31st and 34th Streets
• West 33rd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues

There will also be restricted access on:

• East side of 8th Avenue between 30th and 34th Streets
• West 33rd Street between 6th and 7th Avenues
• West 32nd Street between 6th and 7th Avenues
• West 31st Street between 6th and 7th Avenues

Image source, Getty Images

This week the couple donated $26m (approx. £19.5m) to over 20 charities - though still made no mention of any wedding.

Recipients include food banks, children’s hospitals, animal cruelty organisations and educational programmes, many located in meaningful locations for the couple: Nashville, New York, Kansas City, according to Swift’s publicist.

One of the recipients, City Harvest, a food bank in New York, issued a statement thanking the couple for a $1m donation.

Taylor Swift has been know to make generous charitable donations. As she travelled through different cities on her recent Eras tour, she made donations to local food banks.

Freya Scott-Turner
Favourite song: cardigan (cabin in candlelight version)

Image source, Star Max/GC Images

Something is definitely afoot at Madison Square Garden today.

Rumours that the 20,000 capacity arena would host queen of pop Taylor Swift's wedding have abounded for weeks, and a string of telltale signs over the past 24 hours have made this seem increasingly likely.

What we know

• The New York Police Department (NYPD) has released a list of road closures for both drivers and pedestrians on streets near Madison Square Garden from 13:00 ET (18:00 BST)

• The Madison Square Garden arena has no public listed events on its calendar for 2 or 3 July, while large trucks unloading signs reading “Garden Party”, stage equipment and lights have been seen at the venue throughout the week
• A city permit applying for a "Special Event at MSG" - obtained by the Associated Press said that 100 guests were to arrive at the venue on Thursday for a "pre party celebration". On the Friday schedule, the permit says that guests will arrive from 15:00 ET, before the "event" starts at 17:00 ET

• On Thursday, a stream of black SUVs pulled up to the venue with guests dropped off under a white canopy tent

• High-profile friends of the couple, from actress Lena Dunham to frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff were also spotted on Thursday evening in formal attire

What we don’t know

• If this rumoured wedding is the legal ceremony, or if that will take place separately

• The guest list – said to be 1,000 people strong - and any detail on who is in the bride or groom's parties

• How the venue has been transformed inside and if we can expect to see any photos or video from the event

• What Swift or Kelce plan to wear – and who has designed the outfits
• Who might be performing, and what's on the agenda

Image source, Madison Square Garden website

Image source, Getty Images

Here are some the celebrities who have been spotted in New York City and New York state in recent days ahead of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding:

• Singer Dua Lipa
• Singer Camila Cabello
• Singer Sabrina Carpenter
• Actress Anya Taylor-Joy
• Longtime friend and singer Ed Sheeran
• Mother of the groom and US Traitors star Donna Kelce
• Fleabag actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge
• BBC presenter Graham Norton

You can read more about who could be on the star-studded guest list here.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

With Madison Square Garden now widely expected to be the site of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's much-anticipated wedding, every coming and going outside the venue has been closely watched.

Overnight, workers in bow ties and cream dinner jackets were pictured leaving the sports and entertainment arena, wheeling carts behind them.

Aerial footage earlier in the day showed a stream of black SUVs pulling up to the venue with guests dropped off under a white canopy tent for an event widely dubbed by the media as a pre-party and possible rehearsal dinner.

Nardine Saad
Live reporter

Swifties were shocked on 5 June when gossip website TMZ and the New York Post reported that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce would tie the knot in midtown Manhattan in front of more than 1,000 people at Madison Square Garden - the famed 22,000-seat concert and sports arena.

The rumour gained more traction when New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani made a cheeky reference to the possibility, and when Swift appeared courtside for a 10 June New York Knicks championship match.

Rumours about the date and venue gained traction last week when the New York Times reported on “a multiple-day event” at the arena, attributed to the singer.

The newspaper reported that an intimate gathering of about 100 was set for 2 July and a splashier 1,000-guest celebration slated for 3 July, with a potential stage appearance.

TMZ and the New York Post, as well as celebrity media outlets, have continued to run with the rumours, citing their own insiders and Swifties who got invitations, but Swift and Kelce have made no public comments.

Road closures and a stream of deliveries to the venue all but confirmed that the rumours were true.

Jack Grey
Favourite song: All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)

Image source, Getty Images

All eyes are on Madison Square Garden in New York City, where pop superstar Taylor Swift and her American football-player fiancé Travis Kelce are heavily rumoured to be hosting their wedding celebrations later this evening.

It's been billed as America's answer to a Royal wedding, but we've still not had confirmation that it's actually happening.

Black SUVs were seen pulling up to the sports and entertainment arena on Thursday evening, dropping guests off under a white tent - with media reports speculating it could have been the pre-party or rehearsal dinner.

Around 100 people were expected at the event on Thursday, ahead of a much larger celebration on Friday boasting up to 1,000 guests at the arena.

City officials have confirmed to the BBC that somebody applied for street closure permits in the area this weekend, but did not reveal who.

Sabrina Carpenter, Dua Lipa, Selena Gomez and Ed Sheeran are among the celebs rumoured to be on the guest list. But neither Swift nor Kelce have confirmed a thing.

Our reporters will be ready and waiting across New York to bring you the latest updates as the day unfolds. Stick with us.