The Eras Tour Has Taken the World by Storm: What Is The Eras Tour Like in the UK Compared to the US?
Dazzling, fearless, Taylor Swift.
“Let’s get you Taylor Swift fans on the way!” echoed the flight attendant as we all got comfortable for the 7-hour flight ahead of us.
The Calm Before the Storm
Amongst many other Americans, I made the journey from Houston to New Jersey, then New Jersey to Edinburgh, Scotland in order to see Taylor Swift in concert. Having already seen Swift perform on April 21, 2023, and April 23, 2023, in Houston, I felt extremely grateful for this new experience, eager to see the difference between the American leg and European leg of the tour, and nervous to see if the effortful traveling was worth it.
The presence of Taylor Swift fans and excited energy was encapsulating from the moment I arrived at my gate within Newark Airport.
Boarding my flight to Edinburgh, I was anticipating only to hear the shuffle of passengers and the clashing of luggage being crammed into the overhead bins. However, I was soon pleasantly surprised as the chorus of Taylor Swift’s hit song, “Cruel Summer,” played over the airplane speakers while I took my seat. As I began to sing along, I exchanged familiar smiles with girls dressed just like me — in Taylor Swift merchandise, accessorized with an obvious look on our faces of, “I can’t believe I’m traveling across the world to see Taylor Swift in concert.”
Taylor Swift fans of all demographics suffused well over 50% of the full-capacity flight. Before it was even dawn on the day of the show I was going to, 2 full days before to be exact, I could already tangibly feel the excitement within myself and the Swifties around me. It felt like it was show day already.
For some, it was.
“What surprise song do you want to hear?” a young woman asked me as she immediately noticed my gray, oversized t-shirt, advertising Taylor Swift’s 1989 era.
Her show was that next night, June 7th. Mine was June 9th. After our exchange of our dream surprise songs (songs Swift played unique to each show), I went swiftly back to my seat, wondering how this woman would function at a 3.5-hour-long concert after a 7-hour, overnight flight.
Despite landing at what felt like 3 AM (but was really 9 AM in Edinburgh), the Swifties of the flight and I mouthed the words to another one of Swift’s hits playing from the airplane speakers — “Shake It Off.” While you usually disembark from a flight and expect you and your fellow passengers to remain strangers, I wondered how many people from that flight I may trade friendship bracelets with later that week.
The Wind Is Picking Up
While I expected Taylor Swift to be a topic of a few conversations with strangers during my trip, it was unbeknownst to me she would be the topic of nearly every conversation exchanged with a stranger during my trip. The taxi drivers and hotel receptionists knew what we traveled to Scotland for without even asking. The radio read my mind and played Swift’s biggest hits. She was everywhere. You couldn’t go a few minutes without passing someone holding a bag that read “TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR MERCHANDISE.”
Taylor Swift — the woman of the hour.
The Taylor Swift buzz around the city was all-encompassing. Forever Edinburgh listed nearly 40 restaurants celebrating Swift’s arrival in some way — from cocktail-making to baked goods, Swift inspired everything. Some restaurants even changed their name — a Mexican restaurant, Topolabamba, became Tayloabamba. Taylor Swift books were on full display in the windows of bookstores. Cardboard cutouts of her marked the entrance of various shops. Coffee shops only played her music. Taxi bikes adopted the name “Taylor’s Getaway Bike,” inspired by one of Swift’s fan-favorite songs, “Getaway Car.” Taylor Swift and her army of fans adorned the cobblestone streets of Scotland. These crowds enthralled with enthusiasm and anticipation were not something I witnessed when seeing Swift tour in the States.
As we arrived at our hotel around 10 AM, Swifties were already leaving to go get in line at Murrayfield Stadium for night 1 (of 3) of the Edinburgh shows of the tour. Sparkles and glitter littered the streets of Scotland before the first show had even begun.
A con I found about Swift’s international shows was the set-up of the floor seats. In reality, it was just the floor, no seats. At Swift’s US shows, fans could purchase floor seats without having to queue hours before the concert started, since they purchased an actual seat. The floor seats at the international shows became just a big, crowded pit of people, standing and waiting for hours. On the other hand, international shows’ floor seats are generally cheaper and you have a good opportunity of being very close to Swift herself if you wait long enough. Personally, I was looking forward to my seats in the lower bowl, which would be actual seats.
Dinners, walks around Edinburgh, run-ins in the bathroom, and tourist attractions were sprinkled with Swiftie interactions. One girl, dressed head-to-toe in sparkly sequins, was getting ready to leave for the show in the bathroom of my hotel lobby. When visiting Edinburgh Castle, I met 3 girls from Minnesota who traveled far and wide, like me, to see Swift perform.
4 women at dinner were seeing Swift the day before I was, June 8th. They had traveled 5 hours by train to see her. We marveled at the lengths we all went to in order to see The Eras Tour, but we understood each other. We even traded friendship bracelets, a staple of community within Taylor Swift’s fanbase.
Each Swiftie I met became a friend. Each exchange was as familiar as talking with someone you’ve known for years. We could recognize each other on the streets, which never went without a knowing smile.
The Storm of June 9th
Murrayfield Stadium was an outdoor stadium, whereas Houston’s NRG Stadium was indoor (at least it was for Swift’s show back in April). This merited a completely new experience. Concessions were outside the stadium, anointed with extremely long lines. In comparison to NRG, the amount of people seemed much greater at Murrayfield. The energy was electrifying and the show hadn’t even started yet.
After being on the stadium grounds for less than 5 minutes, I was already exchanging friendship bracelets with a young girl. Minutes later, a group of Canadian girls closer to my age sitting behind me became my friends, which also, of course, consisted of a friendship bracelet exchange.
“So after the first song y’all are gonna prove you’re the best crowd?...Y’all are built different!” said Swift after she took the stage and performed her first full song of the show, “Cruel Summer.” Swift made a point to announce that night 3, the show I was at, had beat the attendance records of the two nights preceding. She even said, “Saved the best for last!”
I may be biased, but I couldn’t help but agree. The energy of the crowd I was so lucky to be a part of was jubilant beyond comparison. At times, you could hear everyone singing along more than you could hear Swift. After Swift’s iconic performance of her song, “champagne problems,” the crowd gave a standing ovation for minutes, whereas at the Houston shows, it was probably for a matter of seconds. You could feel the desperation of the fans — they had waited so long for Swift’s show, and they were going to make sure she knew it. The igniting exhilaration of knowing you’re breathing the same air as Swift was palpable, not to mention the anticipation felt by us all, waiting to see the new, The Tortured Poets Department set, live and in action. This was a change to the setlist, unique to the international shows. The Tortured Poets Department was a record-breaking album since its release in April, so Swift transforming these songs into a full-blown performance was long awaited. And I must say, she did not disappoint.
The Tortured Poets Department set held its own and stood apart from the rest. Swift personified the tangible angst, longing, passion, love, and loss she sings about in a complete Broadway performance (AKA “Female Rage: The Musical,” according to Swift). From “levitating down your street,” recreating high school bleachers, broadcasting her own alien abduction, to leading a marching band, Swift showed us more than we could have ever imagined within her TTPD set.
You could also see how diverse the crowd was — there were Swifties from all over the world who had traveled to Scotland for Swift. The fan-directed chants were also not to be forgotten. During Swift’s performance of her hit, “Blank Space,” you could hear the crowd chanting, “SCOT-LAND.” This is inspired by Swift’s iconic 1989 world tour, where she performed in Sydney, Australia, and created the chant, “SYD-NEY.”
While the incomparable intensity of the crowd was riveting, the outdoor stadium was magically unique, and Swift was, of course, a perfect performer, I found some cons to consider when attending The Eras Tour internationally.
The likelihood of getting an Uber or taxi home was laughable. My mom and I had a 30-minute walk ahead of us. Vaping and smoking within the stadium was a given, despite it not being allowed. While many Swifties pray for a rain show, the unpredictable weather, or even predictable weather, can be taxing. You can experience brutal sun, unwavering wind, rain, or the harsh cold (in the case of Edinburgh, it was all of the above). Additionally, and most importantly, I found there was a greater prevalence of safety complications. Swift stopped performing a handful of times in order to point out an issue within the crowd, specifically in the pit of floor seats.
While there are concerns to consider, finances to be figured out, and plans to be put into motion, seeing the glitter on the floor after the party, making the friendship bracelets, and taking the moment and tasting it, you’ll know traveling for Swift’s concert is likely not something you’ll regret.
The Aftermath
After the concert ended, I marveled at Swift’s ability to connect with each and every crowd, and every person in the crowd, differently. She has a mesmerizing way of making you feel like she’s talking directly to you, no matter where you’re sitting — whether you're right in front of her or up in the nosebleeds. From speeches and unique surprise songs for each show (my show’s surprise songs being mashups of “It’s Nice To Have A Friend” x “dorothea” and “Haunted” x “exile”), to thoughtful comments she makes throughout her performances, Swift makes every night she performs extremely special. She ensures that the effort you put in to get to her show is worth it. I can say, with 100% certainty, that my effort was beyond worth it.
The next morning I traveled to London, and Swift still could not be escaped. From conversations on the train I overheard about traveling to her next show, nods to her still present at restaurants, to Eras Tour bags and merchandise decorating people all around me, Swift was everywhere, and no one wanted her to go away.
According to CNBC, Swift visiting the UK was set to provide a $1.2 billion boost to the economy. Fans made sure to thank Swift for this as each night Swift performed her 3 sold-out shows in Scotland, earthquake readings were documented coming from the fans’ passionate, energetic dancing.
Thank You, Taylor
Swift took to Instagram with a thank-you post for the Edinburgh crowds she performed for June 7th, 8th, and 9th, as she does for each place she puts on her show. “Edinburgh!!! You truly blew me away this weekend,” Swift writes.
Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand for Taylor Swift and her magnificent vocalists, dancers, and band?
Swift and her fans have a steadfast relationship, founded on gratefulness and love for each other — this relationship is unique to any other celebrity and their fanbase, and I am honored to be a part of it.
I think it’s safe to say Taylor Swift left her mark on Edinburgh, Scotland. Feeling the undying energy of Swifties and seeing Swift enchantingly perform with her team of immensely talented dancers, vocalists, and musicians is an experience I’d travel across the world for, 13 times over if I could.
