Event review: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour comes to the UK
It started by making friendship bracelets on the train to Liverpool. Behind us, some young women debated whether they could bite through the elastic to tie their bracelets together. I asked them if they wanted to use the tiny safety scissors that I had packed and they thanked me profusely, after a while they gently tapped and asked to borrow them again, I, of course, smiled and obliged. It would be this easy sense of camaraderie, good mood and ultimately sisterhood that would colour the day that Taylor Swift took the stage at Anfield.
Epic, another word that could describe the entire 24 hours. An epic journey from London to Liverpool, epic numbers of fans milling around the city centre from the morning until 4pm when the doors opened, you can spot a Taylor Swift fan from afar, they are enthusiastic, excited, nearly bouncing from place to place knowing they are simply hours away from seeing the country-turned-pop-turned-everything megastar in the flesh. Epic too was the staging, performance and atmosphere at the show. But that’s for later.
The buildup
The fans were everywhere, from the packed train that we sat opposite a father, clearly accompanying his teenage daughter (who was also making bracelets) to the world’s biggest tour, to the hotel check-in, where we stood in a queue of fans, the lobby decorated with bunting showing each of her albums in sequence, the people at the front desk asked everyone if they were going to the show. Nearly every single person (barring a few tourists) was. Every café, pub, bar we walked past blasted Taylor Swift at full volume. The city of Liverpool used its status as a cultural hub to create a ‘Taylor Swift Trial’, each of her albums represented through artwork people could interact with, a black leather throne for Reputation, a moss-covered piano for Folklore. The main train station welcomed us with a rainbow mural, declaring right from arrival that THE Taylor Swift was in town, if only for three nights.
We got dressed into our outfits, one Lover-themed, one a blend between Reputation and Folklore, covered ourselves in glitter from head to toe, scooped up our friendship bracelets and hopped into a taxi. As far as we’d travelled to be here, we were running late – and being late to this particular show was inexcusable. Traffic was plentiful, so we got out about 15 minutes away from the stadium and ran. On the way, we walked alongside every excited fan, there were young girls with their fathers, adult women with their boyfriends, groups of young women all dressed up and queer people in their best Eras tour regalia. A young girl, around seven or eight, excited played with her bracelets on the road to the stadium. We asked if she had made them herself, her father said her mommy helped, we asked if she wanted to swap with us and she squealed with delight at her new, beaded jewellery celebrating Swift.
As we walked up to the press office to pick up our tickets, every single person we talked to vibrated with joy and excitement. It was a wholesome, supportive experience. Everyone smiled, everyone wanted to chat about their favourite songs, their favourite albums, what merch they were going to get and how many times they were going to see the show (jealousy hit us whenever someone told us). The stewards were in on it too, they were all happy, there was not an angry, intimidating person among them, every staff member was helpful and kind, one even walking us to the gate when we got a little lost. The older men who were doing security even talked about they were excited to go in and watch the show and how they had all taken turns to see Swift’s performance, allowing others to see it before they had the chance.
Organised and easy to navigate (despite our initial bewilderment), Anfield was an incredible venue overall. The staff were unbelievably helpful and kind, there were people walking around the arena floor with water, beer and cider available throughout the crowd. The show was, of course, sold out, but even the floor wasn’t too overpacked. It was well-thought through, safety-first – and even the toilet queues weren’t too long (if you’re a woman, you know how those pesky queues are). We exchanged more excited words with others, swapped bracelets and it was time for the show to begin.
Standing near the back (even though I am just five feet tall), I could see well. People moved out of the way and asked if I could see, the fans were all in it together, there for each other, they offered to take pictures, send over videos of us dancing and danced along with us. It was community made real.
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