As workers scrambled to prepare New York's Madison Square Garden for the expected lavish wedding of megastars Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, the pair gave their clearest hint yet of what their plans might be.
While neither has commented on media reports of a holiday weekend bash, the singer's publicity team on Thursday said that Kelce and Swift had donated $US26 million ($A38 million) to several charities in New York and elsewhere this week.
The announcement made no mention of a wedding and Swift's publicist has not responded to wedding-related questions from Reuters.
But several media outlets reported that Swift and Kelce will hold a 100-person event at the sports arena on Thursday followed by a larger celebration in front of 1000 people on Friday.
At Madison Square Garden, workers have been hauling in food and decor to make the whole place shimmer.
News cameras captured foliage, a box marked "garden party" and another labelled lobster meat.
The venue's public calendar shows no events scheduled until Tuesday - a rare six-day stretch in a summer otherwise packed with concerts, with just the occasional night unbooked.
Police set up barriers around the venue on Thursday, closing streets and blocking pedestrian walkways.
New York City already was abuzz with major happenings over the US Independence Day weekend.
Tall ships will sail into New York Harbor to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on Saturday, and a World Cup football match is set for Sunday in nearby New Jersey.
On Wednesday, onlookers stopped to watch a Russian couple of daredevils who climbed to the top of the Empire State Building and unfurled a banner urging world peace.
New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters that officers were "tracking" an event at the Garden on Friday night and "will, of course, have a detail in place".
The union of the "Love Story" singer and a Kansas City Chiefs tight end, dubbed "America's royal wedding," is one of the most anticipated celebrity weddings of the century.
Speculation has intensified since the couple announced their engagement in August following a public courtship that enchanted fans.
Cameras caught Swift cheering on Kelce at Chiefs games and followed him as he jetted around the world to her concerts.
A star-studded crowd is expected, given Swift's roster of celebrity friends, including Selena Gomez, Ed Sheeran, Emma Stone and Gigi Hadid.
In one TV interview, Swift joked that she would invite "anyone that I've ever talked to".
Irish television host Graham Norton, who appeared in Swift's Opalite music video, was pictured arriving at New York's JFK airport.
Swift was a guest on Norton's BBC chat show last year, and when he asked her when the wedding would take place, the singer said: "Oh, you'll know ... I was going to invite you to it".
On the groom's side, Chiefs coach Andy Reid was photographed being fitted for a tuxedo.
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