Taylor Swift live in London August 2024

 

I had wanted to see Taylor Swift live since I got her "Reputation" album. My wish almost came true when I managed to secure a ticket for BST Hyde Park 2020... which of course never happened because of the pandemic. Three years later when I had gone to concerts abroad again, in fact I think I was in London for the Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel concerts, her European leg of The Eras Tour was announced and I got presale access. The reason I got presale access was that I had bought a couple of her CD's from her official store which goes to show how important physical media still are. Meanwhile she had gone from superstar to megastar status and people were complaining that it was impossible to get tickets for any of her concerts. So, for once, I would be attending a concert by the #1 artist in the world! Not bad...

So, on the 15th of August, which is a national holiday in Greece and most people are away on holiday on the Greek islands, I set off from an empty Athens towards London. I had chosen a hotel that was conveniently located near my favourite pub, The Pride Of Paddington.

After a couple of hours of rest I headed towards Wembley. On my way, I kept seeing women dressed like Taylor Swift. When I arrived I saw that there was the by now usual for those occasions information board created by London Underground staff at Wembley Park station (There was even a Taylor's version of the tube map). 

And the road from the station was filled with people heading towards the stadium, merchandise stands and street vendors. 

Before I went into the stadium I headed towards the huge merchandise store that had been created at one of the stadium's car parks. I had read that in the US leg, the special version of her Midnights CD was sold and I wondered if perhaps it was available here as well, but no such luck. The albums on sale were the ones that I already had, but it was interesting to wander through that place where you even had to wait in a queue in order to get in.

From there it was straight on to the stadium. Two people stopped me on my way to my seat to compliment me for my Bruce Springsteen t-shirt. The second one had been to Belfast, at the same concert that I had attended there.

Unfortunately I was only able to catch the end of the Paramore support set by the time I had sat down. Taylor's set would be a lengthy one (3 hours and 20 minutes like Bruce Springsteen's) and it had to start early. On top of that, let me remind you once again that concerts in the UK start early so that people will have a chance to get back home using public transport, unlike what happens in Greece.

The countdown for the main event then started and we could see it at the projections screens. This tour was using an almost 360 degree stage, somewaht like, but not exactly the one that was first used by U2 on their 360 tour. That's why most people were saying that "there is no such thing as a bad seat at a Taylor Swift concert".

As for the concert itself, you can get an idea if you have watched her Eras Tour Concert documentary, with separate sections for each albums, except that this time there was the added bonus of the songs from her latest album "The Tortured Poets Department", one of which, "I Can Do It With A Broken Heart", proved to be a highlight of the evening. If this looks like to you like one of the concerts by artists like Madonna where you get the same setlist night after night, it's not. That's because it has these acoustic sessions where 'surprise songs" come up (again like a Springsteen concert!).

As for me, I was waiting for songs from my favourite albums "Reputation" and "1989" (I just love "Blank Space") and also "You Need To Come Down" and "We Are Never Getting Back Together". And even though I am not a big fan of the two "folk" albums she released during the pandemic, I simply adore "August".

Like Coldplay, there were also wristbands on offer the lighing patterns of which would change depending on the song. However, these would stay on long after the concert. And yes, I've kept mine! (Again!)

The show came to a close after 3 hours and 20 minutes with the "Midnights' era section featuring 7 songs from that album.

Getting out of Wembley was, as usual, a challenge. We had to stop and wait at several points on the way to the station (which caused somebody to paraphrase that Taylor Swift song and claim that he "could do it with a broken bladder"). Thankfully, there was a party mood in the atmosphere and people kept waving at us from a room of a nearby hotel where apparently a party was taking place in one of the rooms.

 

To sum up, it was amazing to be part of the #1 tour by the #1 artist at that particular time!

SETLIST:

01. Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince
02. Cruel Summer
03. The Man
04. You Need To Calm Down
05. Lover
06. Fearless
07. You Belong With Me
08. Love Story
09. 22
10. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
11. I Knew You Were Trouble
12. All Too Well
13. Enchanted
14. ...Ready For It?
15. Delicate
16. Don't Blame Me
17. Look What You Made Me Do
18. Cardigan
19. Betty
20. Champagne Problems
21. August
22. Illicit Affairs
23. My Tears Ricochet
24. Marjorie
25. Willow
26. Style
27. Blank Space
28. Shake It Off
29. Wildest Dreams
30. Bad Blood
31. But Daddy I Love Him / So High School
32. Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me?
33. Down Bad
34. Fortnight
35. The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
36. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart
37. London Boy
38. Dear John / Sad Beautiful Tragic
39. Lavender Haze
40. Anti‐Hero
41. Midnight Rain
42. Vigilante Shit
43. Bejeweled
44. Mastermind
45. Karma