Entertainment

Taylormania hits Wembley! Fans start queuing for Taylor Swift’s first London Eras Tour concert a day early (and make each other friendship bracelets to pass the time)

Taylor Swift fans have started queuing for the popstar’s sell-out Wembley Eras Tour more than 24 hours before the doors are set to open.

Some 90,000 people are set to descend on Wembley stadium tomorrow night as the Bad Blood songstress starts a mammoth four-day musical marathon at the arena – to the delight of her London fans.

They will be hoping Taylor Swift will sing London Boy and The Black Dog as two of her surprise songs, in a nod to the time she spent in the capital with her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn.

Prior to the hotly anticipated concert, the star is rumoured to be staying in a £3,000-a-night Cotswolds bolthole close to Soho Farmhouse and a private airport.

She has already wowed fans with performances in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Cardiff marked with marriage proposals, a Welsh welcome and even a small earthquake.

Taylor Swift performs at Groupama Stadium on June 2 in Lyon, France, for the Eras Tour

Fans wait to enter Wembley Stadium in London, ahead of Taylor Swift’s first concert in the city

Taylor Swift fans have started queuing for the popstar’s sell-out Wembley Eras Tour more than 24 hours before the doors are set to open

Fans create friendship bracelets as they wait to enter Wembley Stadium in London

Fans wait to enter Wembley Stadium in London, ahead of Taylor Swift’s first concert in the city

As the countdown started to tomorrow night, fans have already started queuing up and are trading friendship bracelets to pass the time.

The beaded bracelets have become a staple item for Swifties at her concerts, with many exchanging with one another as a token of unity and friendship.

Others have started queuing for the singer’s sell-out merchandise and painting their nails in preparation.

Brian Wood, 56, is the first in line for Friday’s show while he waits for his 16-year-old daughter, Caitlin, to join him – the pair are planning to attend all three shows.

The corporate tax lawyer from Philadelphia said he first scouted out the size of the line on Sunday evening, but after realising that nobody else had arrived, retreated to his room at the Novotel near the stadium.

Sat by the fence in a camping chair since Thursday morning, Mr Wood said: ‘I’m not going to give up the place. If I left, it would be gone.

‘My daughter is a big Taylor Swift fan. I’m holding the spot for her – that’s what dads do.’

Mr Wood said he’s been working since he arrived on Sunday by taking work calls in his hotel room.

He said: ‘I’m getting some sleep, not a lot. I’ve got a sleeping bag in my tent.

Brian Wood, a Taylor Swift fan from the United States, shows the back of his t-shirt as he waits at the Red Zone the VIP entrance

Taylor performed three gigs at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield stadium to kick off the UK leg

‘This is the way we always do it when we go to shows. It’s a better experience when you’re first in.

‘If you’re up front, the artist is right there. For us it’s worth the time and the hassle. The payoff comes when you’re inside the arena.’

Lucy Smith, 40, has been sat outside with daughter Ella Smith, 15, since 2pm on Thursday.

Ms Smith, who works in customer service, said she made the trip from Wales especially for the gig having never seen Swift perform.

She said: ‘It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. My daughter’s a big Swiftie. She’s been planning this for a year.

‘We’re going to keep alternating in shifts. We’ve got a room in the Premier Inn so we’ll do naps and then change.’

Maria Barrientos and Manuel Cordero, both 27, have come from Cadiz, in Spain, to watch Friday’s performance.

Ms Barrientos, who works in finance and has seen Swift perform four times, said the pair did not plan to wait in line but changed their minds when they saw a queue forming.

Mr Cordero, who works for a translation company, said: ‘We wanted to see her super close. We thought, if there are people queuing we have to be there.

Ms Barrientos, who said she has been listening to the singer’s music since she was a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥, added: ‘We paid 400 euros each for the tickets. We have to make it work.’

As the countdown started to tomorrow night, fans have already started queuing up and are trading friendship bracelets to pass the time

Fans wait to enter Wembley Stadium, ahead of Taylor Swift’s first concert in London

Some have been spending up to £300 on tour merchandise at a pop-up shop outside Wembley Stadium before the singer performs in London.

The shop, which is open to anyone, sells T-shirts, hoodies, posters, bracelets, water bottles and tote bags featuring the dates and branding of Swift’s 2023-2024 Eras tour.

The items range from £15 for a poster to £70 for a beige hoodie.

The most popular item, according to staff, is the grey Eras Tour quarter-zip fleece (£65) featuring a colourful pop art-style collage of Swift.

Since 10am on Thursday, more than 2,000 people had entered the shop, set up in a car park to the east of the stadium, according to security officer Khan Balayt.

Nikki Nesh, who works in marketing, was one of them.

Ms Nesh was celebrating her 27th 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡day and is set to attend Friday’s show.

Ms Nesh, from Streatham, south London, said she spent £120 on merchandise and £249 on tickets to see Swift play on Friday and another show in August.

She said: ‘It wasn’t bad. We budgeted way more than that.

‘(Swift) is just amazing. I’ve grown up with Taylor Swift. I’ve been a fan since I was 12.

‘I love everything about her. Her lyrics, her storytelling.

‘She’s gets a lot of hate, but she’s such a good role model. She makes me feel like I could do anything, like I could achieve whatever I wanted to.’

Ms Nesh’s friend, Jenny Ansell, also 27, added: ‘You feel the lyrics and you think, I’ve been through that.’

Ms Ansell, a carer from Romford, said she spent £300 on merchandise at the pop-up shop.

She said: ‘(Swift) made me feel so confident. I’ve only been a fan for a year.’

Ms Nesh interrupted: ‘I turned her and made her a Swiftie.’

Ms Nesh showed off her wrist full of home-made friendship bracelets featuring facts and key phrases about Swift that she swaps with fellow fans.

One bracelet displayed the number 13, which Ms Nesh said was Swift’s ‘lucky number’.

Vivian Huang, a 24-year-old Chinese student studying law at Queen Mary University, said she spent £140 on merchandise in addition to a £500 ticket to see Swift play at Wembley on Friday night.

Ms Huang said her favourite song was Enchanted, adding: ‘When I met my boyfriend, I listened to that song a lot.’

Taylor Swift took to her Instagram on Thursday to share several stunning concert snaps

She praised Cardiff fans by saying: ‘Cardiff!! My first time playing in Wales and that was truly out of control in the best way – looking out into that massive, bouncing, dancing sea of people… I’ll never forget it’

Taylor kicked off the show welcoming her fans and saying in Welsh ‘Croeso i’r daith Eras!’ which translates to ‘Welcome to the Eras Tour’ in Cardiff

Violet Tang, Ms Huang’s friend, is seeing Swift play on Sunday.

The accounting student at King’s College London said: ‘Taylor Swift is popular in China.’

She said it did not matter that few people could understand the meaning of Swift’s songs, because the ‘melodies are memorable’.

‘We listened to her songs in school. We learned English grammar from her,’ she added.

Danny Nash, 40, said he was not attending any of Swift’s shows but was buying merchandise for his 15-year-old daughter.

Mr Nash, a technical services manager who lives beside Wembley Stadium, said: ‘I couldn’t afford the tickets so I got the merch instead.’

He said that when Swift played on Friday evening ‘my daughter will just ride around (outside the stadium) on a Lime bike to listen to the music’.

The pop-up store opened on Thursday and will close on June 23.

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