Who pays €852 for one ticket to see Taylor Swift?

I didn’t want to spend that much on a concert, but I’m a millennial, so I’m a slave to funflation. My family consists of one cat and no partner or children. Lastly, I don’t believe in the value of savings because as long as I live, I’ll work and spend what I earn, so what’s the point of setting money aside? I might trip on it and fall.  

This wasn’t my first big concert rodeo abroad, but this particular one felt immense even before it began. Taylor’s fame is dauntingly larger than herself or anything else I’ve encountered to date. 

Next time, you look down from your high horse at a darling Swiftie and ask with disdain, “Wait, do you like Taylor Swift? Ewww.” Consider reflecting on why Taylor Swift doesn’t appeal to you. 

You won’t need to search too far and wide; I did. And you know what? I would do it again.  

When it comes to making decisions that are epically stupid, I have a particular friend I always message. I tell her about it, and she always responds with various inspiring quotes like “Carpe diem!”, “If not now, when?” and “LIVE IT UP!” to enable me. So after one such exchange, I thought YOLO, and one day in June ’23, I booked a ticket for Taylor Swift’s concert in London in June ’24. 

Obviously, I did NOT want to spend that much money on a concert, but: 

1) I’m a millennial, enslaved by funflation, which basically means I’d rather blow my money on trips and extravagant experiences than, say, on a property in Loutsa. 

2) I don’t believe in the value of savings because as long as I live, I’ll work and spend what I earn, so what’s the point of setting money aside? I might trip on it and fall. Gotta be careful. 

3) My family consists of one cat, not a partner, with two children. 

4) This wasn’t just any concert. It was THE concert of the MOST successful world tour IN HUMAN HISTORY! 

She sang for 3 hours and 40 minutes, which is 2 hours and 10 minutes longer than a traditional live performance. 

Arriving in London, you couldn’t help but notice how the city had gone a little cray cray over Tay Tay. Countless events unfolded during the three days she performed at the sold-out Wembley, entertaining 270,000 people. Amidst Taylor Swift Nights, there were more unique happenings, like the Taylor Drag Brunch, where you could enjoy your eggs benedict while a drag queen impersonating Taylor lip-synced “Cruel Summer” right above you.  

Fresh graffiti on the streets featured her face or lyrics and outfits inspired by her eras—rhinestone boots, rhinestone skirts, and even cowboy hats bedazzled to the max. Rhinestones were clearly the city’s hottest commodity. The subway had even revamped its announcements, taking cues from her various hits. And to top it off, the military band at Buckingham Palace belted out “Shake It Off” on bagpipes, as Prince William told me at the show. 

This wasn’t my first big concert rodeo abroad, but this particular one felt immense even before it began. Taylor’s fame is dauntingly larger than herself or anything else I’ve encountered to date. 

She sang for 3 hours and 40 minutes, which is 2 hours and 10 minutes longer than your average concert. At the stadium’s entrance, power banks sold like the last hot bao buns in town. To be fair, how long can a poor iPhone battery last, anyway? 

The 2-minute standing ovation after the “Champagne Problems” anthem felt like it caused an earthquake, around the 2.3 mark on the Taylor scale. 

For 3 hours and 40 minutes, the entire stadium cheered every lyric, except for the folks in my section who seemed to have been paid off by Kim Kardashian just to look bored at a Taylor concert. If you didn’t get my Kim reference, no worries, keep reading, but on Monday, please bring your legal guardian. 

The customary 2-minute standing ovation that usually follows the “Champagne Problems” anthem felt like an earthquake hit, registering around 2.3 on the Taylor scale. Yes, it caused some Eras Tour tremors, as the seismologists would say, but hey, “there’s no reason to worry. Adding to the spectacle, there were not one, but two successful marriage proposals during “Love Story”—or at least that’s what my TikTok tally revealed later on. 

After the concert ended, on the crowded trains heading back downtown, we sang “Is It Over Now?” in the carriage, and I felt the warm embrace of united Swifties. In fact, a teenager was handing out friendship bracelets she had made herself, a hallmark of our fandom. When she noticed I wasn’t wearing one, she put two on my wrist and hugged me. I didn’t know her, but I remember saying, “Now I believe.” 

By the end of the Eras Tour on December 8th, Swift will have completed 152 live shows across five continents in front of over 10 million people. 

Of course, this largely manufactured Taylor Swift persona is difficult to maintain and could easily collapse in a moment, although I would be surprised if it did. At 34, she exudes a humility, grace, and confidence that I honestly can’t recall any other star of her caliber ever projecting so intensely. She’s also a mastermind and a beloved brand with a clear recent strategy to support smaller artists to thrive through her platform, such as Hayley Williams (Paramore) and Gracie Abrams, whom she brought on stage during the three-day event. She also capped off Sunday with her partner Travis Kelce, who made his first appearance in the performance. 

The Eras Tour will conclude on December 8th in Canada. By then, Swift will have completed 152 live shows across five continents, performing in front of over 10 million people. 

According to the respected Pollstar forecasts, earnings are expected to exceed $2 billion, making it the most profitable tour in the music industry’s history.  

She is the most consistent, creative, and devilishly entrepreneurial artist of the 21st century. 

Taylor reached the top, then started building floors on top of it and climbing them, now entering her own unique sphere. All this is solely from the songs she writes herself. She’s certainly not the greatest musician-singer who’s ever existed. But she is the most consistent., creative, and devilishly entrepreneurial artist of the 21st century. 

Next time, you look down from your high horse at a darling Swiftie and ask with disdain, “Wait, do you like Taylor Swift? Ewww.” Consider reflecting on why Taylor Swift doesn’t appeal to you. 

PS. Εww back at ya!