Waddling up the 107 steps of Wembley Stadium in the height of a climatically challenging, verging on cruel, summer isn’t exactly how I envisaged I’d spend my night. Crowds of pre-teens race up the stairs next to me, hand-in-hand, adorned in feather boas, pink rhinestone-frosted cowboy hats, glitter and stacks of friendship bracelets. Merchandise touts flog Taylor Swift-emblazoned T-shirts and hoodies with the fervour of gavel-waving auctioneers at the close of sale. Not since attending Britney Spears’ ‘Oops!… I Did It Again Tour’ in 2000 – my first taste of pop stardom, IRL – have I felt the palpable electricity of fan mania, musical adoration and, more poignantly, hope in the balmy August air.
Fast forward 24 years and at 32 years old, I’m six months pregnant with my first child, and attending one of Taylor Swift’s concerts during the end of her world-revered Eras tour leg in Europe. Admittedly, attending the Eras tour in my second trimester wasn’t top of my to-do list during my pregnancy, not least because I’m not a die-hard Swiftie. But even the most averse Swift fan would admit that, regardless of your views on her fame, music and political sway, the singer’s tour has been one of the most widely discussed, globally celebrated and most exciting cultural events to have taken place in the last decade.
Whether you know your ‘Shake It Off’s from your ‘Fortnight’s, possessing an Eras tour ticket is akin to holding a golden ticket in the palm of your hand that’ll mark a historic moment in time for generations. It’s hard to believe Swift’s tour – the highest-grossing of any artist in history, making more than $1 billion and counting during its 149-date schedule – will come to an end later this year. In less than 18 months, the 34-year-old has sold more than two million tickets in one day, causing Ticketmaster to crash, caused fans in Seattle to dance so hard last July they prompted seismic activity equivalent to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake, and contributed more than $4.6 billion to the global economy – a phenomenon that has since received the moniker ‘Swiftonomics’.
In recent months we’ve seen everyone from her boyfriend Travis Kelce and Griff to Sabrina Carpenter and Paramore’s Hayley Williams grace the Grammy award winner’s stage, applauded by a legion of Swifties including Emma Stone, Emma Watson, Selena Gomez, Shania Twain, Tom Cruise, Hugh Grant and more. In the last week, Swift returned to London for a five-night stint at Wembley following her sell-out performance in June, before she’ll officially say ‘so long’ to her fans in Canada in December 2024. Amid suggestions that Swift’s Eras tour might be her last and prompt a well-deserved hiatus, one of the biggest talking points of the singer’s global melodic journey has been her unparalleled physical stamina.
Crossing time zones and thousands of miles, Swift’s fans have seen her perform the full set list for up to three hours and 15 minutes. On some nights, she delivers a three-hour and 45-minute showcase, changing costume approximately 16 times, all while singing her way through her 14-album catalogue of hits. To prepare for the physical feat, Swift admitted to Time last year that she’s practised by singing the whole set while running on a treadmill to build up her stamina. ‘Fast for fast songs, and a jog or a fast walk for slow songs,’ she explained. ‘I knew this tour was harder than anything I’d ever done before by a long shot. I finally, for the very first time, physically prepared correctly.’ It’s a sentiment I can empathise with during pregnancy.
Like Swift, I’ve viewed the nine months before my baby arrives as a moment to train my body to be in the best condition possible. In place of a treadmill and Swift albums, I’ve been working out six days a week in the gym, with a mixture of cardio and strength training, to ensure I’m at peak physical condition for the physical ‘challenge’ on the horizon. As I watched her, and her support act Suki Waterhouse (who gave birth to her daughter in March) on stage, I felt buoyed by not only their stamina but also their laser focus to prioritise physical strength in an industry all too long dominated by arbitrary beauty ideals.
Throughout the concert, I couldn’t help but notice the buzz of joy from young fans who have had their childhoods soundtracked to the sound of, and belief systems moulded, by Swift. Eager Swifties in the stands below swapped bracelets like Pokemon cards in a plethora of colours, each spelling out lyrics, titles or fandom inside jokes related to the singer. I was struck by the power of female friendship and solidarity on display. Contrary to most concerts and festivals I’ve been to in recent years, where you’re more likely to lose a bracelet in a crowd that gain one, Swift’s Eras tour has encouraged a generation of fans to show boundless charity, camaraderie and kindness. For the first time in months, it gives me hope for the world my child will be born into. For every Swiftie who has attended the singer’s concert has also stood a supportive parent, friend or partner holding a coat and smiling eagerly as they watch their loved ones enraptured by the power of the singer.
Dotted among the 92,000-strong fans in Wembley, I saw disgruntled dads with earmuffs on, aimlessly scrolling through BBC Sport, as their daughters and friends chirped along to ‘Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?’. Elsewhere, tired mums stifled yawns as they stood up for yet another Swift banger. Meanwhile, the cheeks of glitter-smeared parents walked tentatively down aisles with drinks and burgers in-hand for their children squealing in excitement at the sight of their musical Messiah. I was reminded of the times my mum sat patiently in a car park for me during a Coldplay concert and stood in line with me for McFly fan signings. Pre-teen Swifties might form the foundations of the Eras tour audience, but so too do their parents.
Swift’s return to Wembley also saw her comeback after cancelling three of her Vienna tour dates after Austrian officials arrested two suspects who appeared to be planning an attack on Swift’s shows in Vienna. The news came days after a devastating stabbing in Southport at a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance workshop which saw three young children – Alice da Silva Aguiar, Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe – lose their lives. It’s understandable why many fans attending the Eras tour have been cautious about her latest gigs and Wembley Stadium enforced new safety measures to protect concertgoers. If anything, the Eras tour teaches us that vigilance is key in all public events, but so too is not allowing the brutal acts of the few to prevent you from enjoying musical events.
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Throughout my pregnancy, I’ve received numerous warnings from mothers and health care officials about remaining healthy and avoiding anything that could put my life, or that of my child’s, in danger. From how to travel and exercise, to drinking alcohol, eating meat, cheese and consuming caffeine, there’s not a day that goes by when I don’t have to consciously turn away from moments of fear-mongering and balance caution with optimism. The motto I follow? ‘Be sensible, but enjoy the ride.’ It’s a similar sentiment I employed on attending Swift’s Eras concert. The Eras tour represents Swift’s discography in 10 acts, charting teenage romanticism to the melancholy and grief we all must endure with age. It is a physical manifestation of the growth, mistakes and learnings her fans will experience as they go through life. As I stand on the precipice of motherhood, like Swift I’m looking back on the woman I once was with kindness and nostalgia, and can’t wait for the next era on the horizon for both of us.
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