Like many, many, many people around the world, I am a fan of the famous singer Taylor Swift. Perhaps you’ve heard of her? 

I’m a fairly latent Swiftie. Sure, I enjoyed I Knew You Were Trouble and played 22 on my 22nd birthday. Of course I sang along to You Belong With Me and played Forever And Always amid a bad breakup. But I didn’t count myself among her legion of Easter-egg-hunting, red-scarf-remembering, Swiftie-to-the-bone diehard fans. 

That was until July 2020, when Swift dropped Folklore. Then Evermore. I played both non-stop throughout the pandemic and beyond: on bike rides, while writing fiction, while doing my make-up, while having a depression slump. I began to analyse Swift’s lyrics with a new fervour. I returned to Reputation and Lover and remembered how much I had adored Getaway Car and Death By A Thousand Cuts. Taylor’s 10-minute version of All Too Well was the first time I’d heard any iteration of the song, and I slid right into understanding the references to ‘sipping coffee like you’re on a late-night show’. By the time Midnights arrived, I had gone full Swiftie. Since The Tortured Poets Department dropped, there hasn’t been a single day I’ve gone without listening to one of the tracks (most frequently Chloe Or Sam Or Sophia Or Marcus or Guilty As Sin, for anyone curious). 

So when a ticket to the Eras tour was offered to Team Stylist, I immediately said yes… then discovered that said ticket was for the same day as my granddad’s 90th birthday. Crushing. Then, weeks later, the offer of another ticket, this time in London and not on any grandparent’s birthday. This time I issued a swift ‘yes, please, me, me, me’, bought a bunch of beads for bracelet-making and got to prepping. 

On 21 June 2024, I attended the first night of Taylor Swift’s the Eras tour in London, at Wembley Stadium, in a hospitality box very kindly provided by Emirates. Everyone I’ve chatted to since has asked how it was, and it’s tricky to sum up the experience without taking over an entire conversation, so instead, here are 22 thoughts and feelings I had throughout the night. 

1. The outfits! The sheer effort and joy that people have put into their Eras tour outfits has blown my mind. I went for a black dress I already owned plus six of the 50+ friendship bracelets I made and a big black bow in my hair to make it vaguely The Tortured Poets Department themed, but seeing people in hand-bejewelled bodysuits and denim jackets painted with lyrics, I wish I’d gone all-out. That’s not because of any sort of negative comparison – I didn’t feel remotely insecure in my outfit and received many compliments on my bracelets – but I had immense fun clocking the meaning behind people’s costumes, and if I went again, I’d definitely want to get more involved. 

2. I love all the different types of people here. In my queue are goth Swifties, dads of Swifties (including one wearing an excellent ‘it’s me, hi, I’m the dad, it’s me’ T-shirt), groups of mid-30s Swifties sipping pre-drinks, tiny shy Swifties with their mums, 1989 Swifties, Folklore Swifties, Swifties wearing hijabs, wheelchair-using Swifties. Seeing so many people united by an artist is honestly kind of moving, especially when you see fans chatting about secret songs and swapping bracelets with people they met seconds before.

3. Paramore are excellent, of course. They were my first proper gig (if we don’t include the S Club Juniors/S Club tour) many, many years ago, back when my friends and I had to have a parent accompany us and I had the energy to push through the crowds to get to the front in my homemade Riot! top, so this feels like a bizarre full-circle moment. I do slightly want to shake all the fans who roll up after Paramore’s set. They missed out. 

4. Oh phew, food. I’m in a hospitality box with Emirates (big thank you, Emirates) and so far I’ve had my champagne glass filled a few too many times. I’m very appreciative of the sushi that arrives, eaten at a proper table with special Taylor Swift-themed place settings. 

5. Oh my God, the countdown clock. It’s at under two minutes. Why do I feel so nervous? 

6. Oh my God, this is so beautiful. The silks! The staging! Even before Taylor comes out, this is incredible. 

7. I’m glad I took the advice of the youths of TikTok and brought along a pair of Loop earplugs. I can hear Taylor clearly and the chat with the pal I brought along. What I can’t hear too much of is everyone else’s singing… although I’m very aware of my own, so I keep that minimal. Until the bridge of Cruel Summer arrives, of course, which requires screaming. 

8. Taylor Swift really has some absolute bangers, doesn’t she? I thought of myself as a Folklore/Evermore fan, but being here has made me realise I know every single word to every song she plays… and I’m loving them all. Please don’t be in love with someone else! Enchanted: what a track. 

9. I hope someone near us proposes during Love Story. There’s a couple in the next box. I take off one of my rings and propose to my friend because the guy next to us is showing no signs of getting down on one knee. This is a lot of fun, although my friend returns my ring at the end of the night, in effect rejecting my proposal. Brutal. 

10. Yes, singing along to the 10-minute version of All Too Well is indeed like therapy. 

11. Reputation time! I love Reputation and have fully bought into the conspiracy theories online that today is when Taylor will announce Reputation (Taylor’s Version), so I’m extremely hyped. Shouting ‘Oh, cause she’s dead’ with 80,000 other people is oddly satisfying. Sadly, Taylor does not announce Reputation (Taylor’s Version) and all those theories I saw online that showed today’s date in lights at previous shows were clearly nonsense. Sometimes lights are just lights. 

12. It’s around this time that the champagne really starts to hit, so my main thoughts and feelings from this moment on are variations on a theme of ‘Wooooo!’ and ‘I love everything’. Taylor Swift is a noted fan of wine and has multiple lyrics about being drunk (in the back of a car, in love, on jealousy, on this pain), so let’s pretend that this is a planned homage to her, rather than the reality, which is that, at 31, I still haven’t learned the lesson that I cannot handle champagne, especially not after having just a few pieces of sushi for dinner. 

13. You drew stars! Around my scars! But now I’m bleeeeding! I’m a real crier, so I’m very impressed I haven’t sobbed yet. I feel high on the joy. It’s the music, sure, but it’s also the communal vibe here. The Eras tour feels like a safe space; a place everyone can sing and scream and be cringey. That’s rare. It’s been a long time since I’ve been somewhere where there’s no pressure to be cool and I don’t feel anxious about how I’m coming across. There’s no judgment here. That’s very special. 

14. Seeing thousands of people waving their arms in unison, with lilac lights aglow on their wrist, is powerful. That sight will stay with me. I can’t imagine how wild it feels for Taylor Swift on that stage. 

15. I’m glad the sun has started setting for the Tortured Poets portion of the show. It feels right for it to be darker. And again, seeing all the lights is incredible. Same with the flames on the stage. 

16. Screaming along to The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived is also therapy. I needed this. 

17. OK, we’re at the surprise songs portion of the evening. I’m crossing my fingers that it’s a song I know… I don’t want to let down the other Swifties. I’ve been hoping she might play Death By A Thousand Cuts (one of her best-ever bridges, IMO) and The Black Dog… It’s Hits Different! That’s fine, I know that. I can sing along.

18. IT’S DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS! YES! Taylor explains Hits Different and Death By A Thousand Cuts are two of the favourite bridges she’s ever written. I have extremely bad hiccups. I persist and sing through them. I’ll be all right; it’s just a thousand hiccups. 

19. Oh my God, now it’s The Black Dog! It’s like she’s read my mind. This transitions into Come Back… Be Here and Maroon. It probably goes without saying, but Taylor Swift is an incredible performer. The stamina required to keep up this level of vocals and energy after three hours is seriously impressive. 

20. Finally, it’s the Midnights era. I like Midnights, but this era’s arrival is bittersweet as it means the night is almost over. 

21. She did the ‘Karma is the guy on the Chiefs’ thing. We all enjoyed it. I look down at my phone and see a friend has messaged to say that Prince William is at the show tonight. It’s all very surreal.

22. We trudge out and are greeted by the largest crowd of people I have ever seen. I don’t remember the journey home, but for reasons I don’t understand, it takes me more than four hours. Even so, an excellent night. Does anyone have a spare ticket for August?

Images: Getty; Ellen Scott